RWBY: Warcraft Collection
by OutlastTheDark
Summary: A collection of oneshots taking place within the AU of Broken Wings and its sequel. Arachnophobic warlocks? Yes. Homicidal bunnies? Of course. Epic quests? Absolutely. Yang opening her big fat mouth? Unfortunately.
1. Chapter 1: The Punishment

**Hey everyone! Just a little bit of info for you; this is a collection of one-shots that take place within the Broken Wings AU. While most of these one shots will be more humorous than my normal story, I will still have some heartwarming or sad/dramatic ones in here from time to time. This collection will not have a schedule per-say, and will be updated whenever I have an idea that I felt should have made it into Broken Wings but would have either broken the flow of the main plot or overloaded it so much it would dilute the story as a whole.**

 **This first chapter is mainly to set up a reason that Wrath will be able to spend time at Beacon without getting hunted down every time he showed his face, but after this it should be a massive cluster of whatever psychotic ideas pop into my head.**

 **Other than that I wish you happy reading!**

* * *

 _The Punishment_

* * *

"You want me to _What?!"_ Wrath cried as he slammed his gauntlet covered hands on the wooden surface of Headmaster Ozpin's desk, a few loose objects falling to the ground at the sudden intense vibrations.

"You heard me." Ozpin retorted, failing to even bat an eye at the Death Knight glaring at him from the other end of the table.

Something about this hooded man was unsettling that was for sure, though Ozpin would not be caught dead expressing such concerns to the Knight. Strength was obviously something that this stranger both resonated snd also respected, but he seemed to be concerned for the safety of a certain black haired student. Such a thing was beneficial in a way. At least he could count on the man's cooperation if nothing else.

"Never! Absolutely not!" Wrath pressed, baring his teeth at the silver haired headmaster like a canine threatening a rival. Even this did nothing to visibly shake the headmaster.

"Mm..." Ozpin mummered, sipping out of his mug gingerly, his eyes never leaving those of his guest's own deathly light blue ones.

"I'm _serious_!" Wrath exclaimed, the runic power in his hands building up, ready to blast the mug, and whatever was sloshing around inside of it, into oblivion.

"I know. So am _I_. Cardin, while rather thick headed, is still a student of Beacon Academy, and as such we must punish the one responsible for harming him." The headmaster said, finally depositing his mug on the desk in favor of taking of a more relaxed position in the chair, keeping the air of authority ever present.

"You know I could just leave through a death gate. How exactly do you plan to stop _That_?" Wrath spat, pulling out a necklace with a purple gem attached from under his armor, letting the crystal swing in the air ominously.

"Oh we don't plan to do anything to stop you." Ozpin chuckled, his coffee cup finding it's way into his hand once more, before coming into contact with his lips, taking a large sip.

"Then how do you expe-..."

"However I noticed how you reacted to Miss Belladonna's command in the arena." Ozpin continued once he moved the mug from his mouth, interrupting the Death Knight in such a way that it actually stunned the elf, though if it was because of his interruption or what he said next he was not sure. "She will be your ' _warden_ ' as it were. She's already agreed."

It was silent for a moment.

" _She what_?!" Wrath cried with a little less vigor than he had previously possessed.

"Volunteered in fact." Ozpin confirmed with another chuckle. He had a feeling that things would be less than boring with this stranger around. That is if he was agreeable of course.

Wrath's head hit the table with a loud bang almost immediately, the smirk on the headmaster's face only growing as a result. With a sigh of defeat Wrath held his hands up in the air. "Please just arrest me..."

"Ah, but you said yourself how easily you could escape confinement." Ozpin retorted, crossing one leg over the other casually, letting himself recline even further into his chair.

"But-..."

"You'll be fine." Ozpin insisted, interrupting the Death Knight for what felt like the umpteenth time in the last five minutes.

 _"Ugh..."_

"It's not all bad for you." The headmaster said after a few moments, causing Wrath's long ears, which had previously been drooping down, to perk up like springs. "I do have a little bit of an extra incentive in place for you; it's actually what got miss Belladonna to volunteer in the first place."

"...I'm listening..."

"After you've done what I have asked, you'll be free to come and go from Beacon as you please, including the ability to use our facilities if you wish." Ozpin explained his hand clutching his mug. "I don't expect you to attend classes, though you would be able to if you desire. You'll be treated as any other hunter-in-training, but without the restrictions of one."

Wrath paused at this. It would be nice to be able to have free reign on the grounds without having to worry about retaliation for his presence. A big change from the usual day-to-day life whenever he traveled to Alliance controlled territory that was not aware of his diplomatic immunity.

"So... You can either do this to pay for your little stunt and be given the rights of an honorary hunter, or you can be regarded as a _hostile_ to Beacon, and a danger to the citizens of Vale. Your choice."

"Sounds like I don't exactly _Have_ a choice." Wrath said, crossing his arms over his dark purple breastplate like a child who had just been told he was not allowed to play outside.

"You do. One just happens to be a foolish one." Ozpin said, before turning back to his monitor, bringing up a few random documents that he had to get to before the end of the day.

Meanwhile Wrath glared at Ozpin who smiled and took another sip of his coffee, never even glancing up to fully meet the other males gaze.

"I would get to work if I were you."

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Wrath muttered as he ripped the metal rake in his hands across another patch of lawn that was covered in leaves, nearly breaking the tool over his knee when it arbitrarily decided that it was going to glance off a rock and mess up the small pile he had created.

"No, what's ridiculous is that you still haven't even finished half the lawn." Blake, who was lounging on a lawn chair a few feet away and reading a small book she had acquired from the library, said as she surveyed the grounds of the school. True to her word, half of the gardens were still completely covered in leaves.

When she had first heard of the punishment from Ozpin, Blake had been astounded at the seemingly light sentence. However, now that she looked over the amount of work that Wrath had done over the last six or so hours, she could confidently say that her headmaster could quite easily pull of the role of an evil genius.

"Well maybe if you got off that chair and helped-..."

"And maybe if you hadn't interrupted my fight and broken half of the bones in Cardin's body, you wouldn't be here." Blake interrupted, visibly adjusting her rear more comfortably into the seat, before reopening her book. "Your mistake, your punishment."

"I was trying to _Help_ you." Wrath huffed, before turning back to the task at hand, gathering a large pile of dead leaves in his arms.

"I'm not a princess. I don't need saving." Blake said as she absentmindedly flipped through the pages of her book. She was not actually reading it. She had 3 times now already. Now she was just enjoying her friends punishment.

Sadistic? Cruel? Yes. Fun? Even more so.

"You're sure acting like one." Mumbled Wrath, letting the words slip from his mouth before he took the time to remember that Blake could hear every word he said.

"What was that?" Blake asked in a humored tone as she lowered the book from her now mischievous amber eyes to stare at Wrath, who was stuffing a handful of leaves into one of the many large paper leaf bags he had already filled.

"Nothing. Just humming." He said, not even bothering to glance up at the faunus. His mistake, she thought.

"Oh really? I thought you said you wanted more leaves!" She exclaimed before bringing two fingers to her mouth, whistling loudly towards the seemingly empty courtyard.

A few moments later, the sound of rushing wind could be heard. Or perhaps it was just Wrath realizing exactly what was about to happen to both him and all of his hard work.

Throwing his hands in the air, Wrath began to wave them frantically. _"No! No!"_

It was too late however, and with a loud whoosh of air, Ruby zipped by with assistance from her semblance, leaving a cluster of rose petals everywhere, a few even finding their way into the nooks of Wrath's armor.

 _"RUBY!"_

A few moments of silence passed by before Wrath finally came back to his senses. When he finally did he noticed something that put fear in him. Fear that no other being besides perhaps the king of the damned himself ever had.

There was Nora, looking at the leaf bags with hunger in her eyes, before glancing over to where Jaune and Pyrrha had found a vacant bench, taking the time to rest and chat, a smile on her face.

Wrath, despite knowing that nothing besides force, perhaps not even that, could stop Nora, decided to inch towards the girl anyway. His hands were bunched into a ball as he attempted to beg for the lives of his leaf bags. "No... No whatever you do, just don't-..."

"NORA _SMASH_!"

Wrath was not quite sure when he nearly broke down in tears. Perhaps it was when Nora's hammer made contact with the bags. Perhaps it was because all of his hard work was now raining down on the previously spotless yard, on top of an unsuspecting Jaune and Pyrrha, a laughing Blake, and an emotionally drained Death Knight.

"I could really use a scrunchy..." Wrath sighed in discontent, before snapping his gaze in Blake's direction, the faunus laughing so hard at his comment she was forced to hold her stomach. "Yeah you heard me!"

* * *

"There you go." Blake said with a calm smile as she handed Wrath a few papers, along with a small bag with Beacon Academy's seal stitched on the front. "You're an honorary hunter now."

 _"Yayyy..."_ Wrath muttered as he picked yet another leaf from his hair, crushing the dried plant in his gauntlet with an audible crunch. With his other hand he took the papers, along with the bag, from Blake's hand, accidentally brushing her fingers lightly, causing her to visibly flinch. Was her face heating up? "So does this mean I'm allowed to come and go as I please now?"

"Yeah. Ozpin said you're also allowed to listen in on classes and use the schools facilities if you want to as well." Blake explained, pointing to the top page of the stack of papers she had handed Wrath.

"Huh... Interesting." Wrath said as he flipped through the pages. Each one listed something different. A few were class details, while others were menus for the cafe along with other documents of seemingly less importance.

"Just a word of advice though." Blake said, catching Wrath's attention.

 _"Oh?"_

"If you do decide to attend a class or two..." Blake trailed off for a moment, as if considering what she planned to say next. What could possibly be so horrible that she appeared so worried? "Just avoid professor Port's classes."

"Um. Why?"

"Just _trust_ me."

"Very well." Wrath laughed, before he began to form a Death Gate behind him, the purple smoke forming an arch in a matter of seconds. "I should go now though. I'm sure the royal guard are searching Stormwind for me at this point."

"Stormwind?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later." Wrath said before he backed into the portal, disappearing into the void. The clouds dissipated a few moments later, the residual smoke floating harmlessly into the air, into the heavens.

"...Come back soon." Blake said with a smile.

With that the ninja started her trek back to her dorm, eager for a nice long sleep, but secretly just as excited for the promise of a new day. A new day, hopefully, with Wrath amongst her friends, standing by their side.


	2. Chapter 2: Dogs and Cats

**Hey people! Just a little idea that I came up with a few days ago that I figured I'd just throw into the collection. Like I said last time, this is 'cannon' but can be placed anywhere in the timeline in which the events are appropriate. But if you want to know Exactly when I intended for this to take place, this takes place between chapters 4 and 5 of Broken Wings.**

 **Oh and real quick, Raging Archon if you are reading, Wrath is a frost Death Knight. Rotsmasher is really just a comic relief more or less. Death Knights, in the past, were able to summon a ghoul regardless of their spec, so I imagine that the ability is still present, hence the presence of Rotsmasher. If you want to give it a current reason though I guess you could always say that its a smaller version of Army of the Dead.**

 **Also ww1990ww I suppose Cho could appear at one point or another. Probably will actually, seeing as how he and Blake would probably get along oh so well. But yes, he very well might!**

* * *

Dogs and Cats

* * *

"Just pet him." Wrath exclaimed, dressed in his usual black and purple armor, as he held up a small dog to Ruby's bunk, where a mound of covers was wrapped around a lithe form, which was doing it's very best to stay completely still.

"No." The mound of covers answered back after a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, prompting the man holding the dog to roll his eyes before lifting the dog closer to the mound, only for it to shuffle away quickly as piercing amber eyes appeared from the mess of sheets.

"Do it." He ordered in a more authoritative tone, though the humor in his voice was not lost, and neither was the smirk.

" _No_ Wrath." The mound replied, finally uncovering itself to reveal Blake's head, though the rest of her body was still wrapped up in the blanket, her hands around the edge of the fabric, ready to pull the cloth back over her head should the need arise.

"Oh come on, he won't bite." Wrath said, holding up the dog once more, causing Blake to shrink back into her covers, silently cursing at how stiff her school uniform was at times.

"And if he does?"

"I'll say sorry?" He laughed, tossing the dog over to a creature that had been standing next to Wrath; a creature that could only be described as a walking corpse, though it's face seemed almost capable of expression, if the smile that it attempted when the dog landed in it's arms was anything to go off of.

 _"No."_

"How can you look at him and say that?" Wrath pointed to the dog, Zwei, who was happily yipping as the strange undead creature stroked his back, the latter of the two giving grunts of glee at the creature in it's arms. "Even Rotsmasher likes him!"

" _'Rotsmasher'_ is a _zombie_!" Blake hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the creature from her blanket cocoon. How Wrath had even snuck an undead monster into the dorms, or a nearby corpse to raise for that matter, was beyond her, but at the moment her only concern was the dog that the zombie was cuddling affectionately.

"Ghoul technically."

"I'm not petting him Wrath!" Blake insisted, her head popping forth once more. Wrath almost laughed at this. "I don't care what you say; I'm not coming down from here."

"Spoil-sport." Blake jabbed a finger in the direction of her ears, causing Wrath to roll his eyes as he took Zwei from Rotsmasher, hoisting the dog in his arms once more. "Oh don't use that excuse!"

" _No no_ , I think I _will_." Blake retorted, backing away from the edge of the bed once more when Wrath decided to lift Zwei closer to her, the small canine barking in delight when he saw Blake once more.

"Pat the dog Blake." Wrath ordered, all while Zwei continued to yip in Blake's face, causing her to shrink into her blankets further like a lioness retreating further into it's cave, attempting to hide herself from the beowolf that stalked her from the mouth of her cave.

The beowolf just happened to be 15 pounds. Same thing.

 _"No!"_

 _"Yes."_

"Your worse than Ruby with this! It's not even your dog!" Blake exclaimed, remembered how Ruby had tried almost the exact same tactic on her when Zwei had first 'arrived', to equal success.

"Yeah, but I'm having fun, so I don't see the issue." Wrath said with his usual smirk. The same smirk that Blake knew meant that Wrath thought that he won. The same smirk that was smug as anything.

The same smirk that painted a huge target on his face.

With speed that Wrath was not quite expecting, Blake unraveled herself from her shield, hurling a pillow at Wrath's head with a satisfying thumping sound along with a grunt of surprise from Wrath, before diving back under her cover cocoon.

It took only a few seconds for Wrath to recover from the sudden and unexpected blow, shaking his head like a dog in an attempt to shake off the dazed sensation Blake forced upon him. "Oh so we're being mature now are we? Well _two_ can play at that game."

Moments later Blake felt something shift around next to her, and before she could stop him, Wrath ripped the blankets away from Blake's face, before thrusting Zwei forward towards her, stopping only an inch from her face.

Then she felt it. A wet tongue rubbed against her nose.

The dog had licked her.

" _See_? That wasn't so-..."

* * *

The cafeteria was rather crowded when Wrath stumbled dizzily into the lunch room, leaning against the wall for support with every step he took. Multiple students stared at him in astonishment as he limped by, though none chose to comment or assist the elf, preferring instead to go about with their own business.

After nearly a good minute and a half of struggling, Wrath finally reached the usual table for the combined group of teams RWBY and JNPR, sitting across from Jaune with a pained grunt.

" _Woah.._ What happened to your armor? It's all scratched up!" Jaune exclaimed when Wrath finally settled into his chair, earning a glare from the dark knight in response, almost all the humor from his face previously present now gone.

" _Thank you Jaune,_ I can see that." Wrath growled before letting his shoulders slump, the energy already beaten out of him by some unknown force. An unknown force that Yang was all too happy to guess as to it's identity.

"What happened though? You lose a fight with an Ursa Major or something?" Yang asked with a snicker, causing Ruby and and Nora to laugh along with her. Ruby understood quickly, but Yang was pretty sure that Nora just wanted an excuse to laugh.

"What the _Fel_ is an Ursa?" The death knight asked, tilting his hood covered head towards Yang, only for Pyrrha to beat Yang to it, knowing the blonde would only attempt to prolong the elf's suffering.

"Long story." Pyrrha shrugged, deciding that Wrath's mood was a foul one, and that attempting to explain the Grimm to him would be a losing battle at the moment.

" _Bear_ -ly!" Yang blurted out with a smile, glancing around the table to meet a mix of giggles, apathetic faces, and a glare from Wrath. Her smile dimmed when she saw only her sister and Jaune were laughing, with the rest rather unimpressed. "Eh? Eh?... Oh _come on_!"

A few minutes of casual conversation later Blake finally arrived, dressed in her normal school attire with a tray of food in her hands, wordlessly planting herself next to Yang with her usual smile plastering her features, though her hair seemed to be slightly out of order, sticking out in random places. Like she had recently been in a brawl. Or just a slaughter.

"Hey there kitty-cat." Yang grinned, taking it upon herself to reach over and brush a few of the loose strands of Blake's hair down with her hand. "Say do you know what happened to Wrath?"

"Oh him?" Blake casted a careless glance in Wrath's direction where he and Weiss had gotten into a glaring contest over something that Blake was not going to bother learning. They would be over it by days end. "He just learned that dogs and cats don't get along very well."

Yang and Blake shared a silent high five.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for** **reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Lifelong Friends

**So here's a new one shot for you all! This one shot focuses on the backstory of a new character that will soon be introduced in Broken Wings, along with a little bit of a hint on Wrath's story! Hope you all enjoy! Just a little note about this chapter; it is Not meant to be humorous, but I promise that the next one I release will be humorous!**

* * *

Lifelong Friends

* * *

It was in the middle of Silvermoon Market, a day just like any other. A young blonde haired elf had decided to fetch some things, specifically a bar of chocolate to sneak into his room for after dinner, before his daily lesson in language and politics, only to end up on the ground with a twisted ankle thanks to a rather large crack in the pavement that the boy had failed to notice.

As the blonde haired elf hissed in pain, attempting to nurse his ankle as person after person passed him by, not bothering to even acknowledge his presence.

Suddenly a hand appeared in front of his face. The elf glanced up to find a boy his age with long, raven black, hair had noticed his plight and had dropped his basket of produce in order to lend him a hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." The blonde elf replied as the black haired elf gingerly lead him over to a nearby bench, helping the blonde elf into a sitting position. Who are you?"

"Oh my name isn't important." The black haired boy waved it off with a wide grin, waving his hand dismissively.

"Okay I guess. Why did you come to help me though? I didn't hurt myself that badly." The blonde elf said, finally taking the time to gaze down at his leg. True to what he had said, only the smallest of bruises was beginning to show. A few minutes at a healer and he would be as good as new.

"Well I want to be a knight!" The black haired elf exclaimed proudly, batting a clenched fist against his chest in a mock salute. "And knights do everything they can to help people!"

The blonde elf laughed, sticking his hand out, which the black haired elf took in a firm handshake. " _Thanks."_

* * *

"The guard captain came by today." A weary looking elven woman said with exhaustion etched in her face as a man roughly her age sat across from her, his own face seemingly set in a permenant frown. "He said that he and a few of his men found our son, along with that new friend of his sneaking around in the palace. Nearly gave King Sunstrider an aneurysm."

"I don't like him... Every time those two meet up our family name is disgraced by their antics! He's a bad influence on our son and you know it!" The man accused, pointing a finger at the shadow covered doorway which lead out into the city.

"What do you recommend then dear? It's not like we can stop our son from having a life, he's only a child..." The woman sighed, taking a sip from the glass before her. "You know as well as I do that in order to be a successful member of the magisters, our son will need all the social connections he can get in-..."

 _"Dalaran!"_

The woman's brows furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"The Mage city of Dalaran. We could send him there!" The man exclaimed as if he had just announced the birth of the next hair to the throne, though the sullen expression etched on his face never faded.

"You want to send our son to another _Kingdom?!"_ The woman asked, a sudden anger overtaking her as her husband put a hand out in front of him, signaling her to let him continue, which she did reluctantly.

"It's what is best for him. You and I both know it." The man explained with a small shrug. "In order for him to become an official court magister he would have to go there for training eventually either way."

"...Very well." The woman muttered after a few tense minute of consideration. She could not argue with her husband's logic. It would just mean that the boy would be in Dalaran for a few extra years. "We should go and tell him I suppose."

" _No._ Say nothing. I don't want him knowing until the day he leaves. It's _best_ that way." The man explained, earning a nod from the woman ajacent from him before they both returned to their previous tasks.

Unbeknownst to either, a small blonde haired elf took just beyond the doorway, tears in his eyes.

* * *

A young blonde haired elf sighed as he withdrew yet another book from a pile that lay beside him, using a pinch of magic to will the book to open to the proper page, silently scanning the text as he absentmindedly began to play with his golden locks.

Shortly afterwards a small knock was heard at the door. Without even glancing in the direction of the door, the blonde haired elf focused his power into the wooden structure, causing it to open on it's own, revealing a frail man in a robe.

"Sir? I've brought news which may interest you." The frail man said as he shuffled into the room, a broad smile plastering his face.

 _"Oh?"_ The blonde elf asked as he turned to face the man with a look of curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"Your friend has passed his trails. He will be made an official Paladin of the Silver Hand at the end of the month." The frail man announced with the usual amount of sophistication in his voice that was expected in Dalaran, no matter the news. "You've been personally invited to attend the ceremony."

"That-.. That's _fantastic_!" The young elf said as he jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over the large column of books that stood beside him in the process. "Confirm my attendance immediately. I'll be there."

* * *

"And with that we welcome the newest Paladin into the order of the Silver Hand!" A grey haired human announced as he placed his holy blade upon the shoulder of a raven haired elf dressed in white and golden armor, followed by a chorus of cheers and a torrent of clapping from all those in attendance.

A blonde elf in an elegant red robe was the first to reach the black haired elf, who rose and gave a smile when he saw the other elf approaching.

 _"Congratulations_ my friend." The blonde haired elf said as he placed his hand on the other elf's shoulder where the holy blade had rested not 15 seconds beforehand. He could still feel the residual Light dancing on the surface of his friend's shoulder plate.

 _"Thank you."_ The black hair elf nodded. "For _everything."_

* * *

"What do you mean he's missing?!" The blonde haired elf yelled as he brought his fist against a wall, nearly knocking an expensive looking painting from it's perch in the process.

"I-I'm _sorry_ sir! He lead the other Paladins in a last stand against the Scourge forces." A shaken soldier cried, nearly bringing his shield up to block whatever the other elf was capable of. "They were escorting a group of civilians to safety, that's all I know!"

The blonde cursed loudly and brought his hand against a vase, knocking it across the room, the fragile ornament landing in several different pieces across the room in a small pile.

Just then a shrill cry came from outside, bringing both elves to full alert. " _Survivors!_ Survivors at the town gates!"

The blonde elf ran out of the room in a moment. By the time the soldier had caught up, the blonde elf had already found the group, charging up to the leader of the group, a beaten and bruised merchant.

 _"You!..._ Were you being escorted by a band of Paladins?!" The blonde elf asked as the merchant, who appeared as if he had already seen more than enough hell in his his life, visibly shrank back.

"No sir... We found a way to move behind the Scourge's main force..." The merchant explained, pointing at a small path down the road that was nearly completely concealed in the shadows of the trees, running parallel to the main road. "We took the back path there."

"But... _Never_? You never saw any other living elves during your escape?" The blonde elf asked, the hope draining from his voice with each and every word he uttered.

"No... I'm sorry..."

* * *

"This is your last chance. We've tried curses and basic fire magic, and both concepts seem to slip through your fingers like dust." A rough voiced elf said as he stood over a blonde elf surrounded by strange creatures, all only a foot tall, dancing in an aura of fire. "However... Your ability to summon demons is rather impressive."

The blonde elf glanced up at the other elf, a look of determination in his eyes.

"If you can summon a voidwalker properly then we will accept you as one of us, and you will get proper training in accordance with your talents." The gruff elf explained, tossing a small purple crystal to the blonde elf before stepping back.

Using all of his focus, all of his magic, the blonde elf began to chant. Chant in a language which just a few months previous he had little, to any knowledge of. But now spoke it like master, hitting each word spot on. Or at least almost. In the final words of the chant he slipped up.

With a sudden rush of dark energy, the blonde elf brought his hands up into the air, and with a cry of adrenalin, he brought them back down, forming a small portal from which a strange large creature suddenly leapt, immediately diving onto one of the many men surrounding the blonde elf.

 _"No! F-Felhunter! **RUN**!"_

The sounds of screaming and flesh being torn echoed throughout the massive dark chamber for what felt like an eternity. One by one the robed men were felled around the blonde elf, all victims to the massive felhunter's fangs.

It was over in less than a minute. None of the men had been had even stood a fraction of a chance against the demon, who was happily ripping the flesh from the gruff voiced man, swallowing chunks of muscle.

The blonde elf finally willed himself to open his eyes, and while what he saw had horrified him, disgusted him, at first, as he continued to stare, he could not but help but to marvel at the creature he had summoned.

Slowly, he picked himself up off of the ground and began to draw closer and closer to the demon, his outstretched hand nearing the beast. "Um, hi..."

At first the Felhunter began to growl, baring it's teeth at the the blonde elf. It did not attack however, which prompted the elf to draw closer and closer. With each step that the man took the demon growled.

However the Felhunter never lunged for him.

His hand finally made contact with the demon's head, the Felhunter giving a strange sound in response as it looked up at the blonde elf, who gave the demonic beast a warm genuine smile.

"I think I'll call you _Carcharoth_..."

* * *

"So... _'Wrath Duskblade'_ eh?" The blonde elf chuckled as he swirled his recently cooled glass of fresh Dalaran Red, bringing the cup up to his lips slowly, savoring the gentle burn of the alcohol as it slithered down his throat.

 _"Mhmm..."_ A raven haired elf nodded in response, his eyes trained down on the floating city below, various adventurers of both the Grand Alliance and the Horde milling about the city in harmony.

"May I ask what's wrong with your old name? Your _Real_ name?" The blonde haired elf asked, crossing his arms as his wine glass began to float in midair, suspended by some type of strange magic.

"The old me wouldn't have done the things I've done..." The black haired elf replied without bothering to glance over at his friend, who only gave a small the,bs up and a cheeky smile.

"True. But the old you couldn't ice my drinks!" He explained, the grin never disappearing from his face as he did so, eliciting a chuckle from the black haired elf as a result.

"True enough."

* * *

"Your foolish crusade ends here mortals. _The Legion_ comes, and with it this world breaths it's _dying breath_!" A massive Eredar giant yelled as it charged into battle with a group of the various races of Azeroth, all wielding every conceivable power that they could muster against the demon lord.

Felfire clashed against arcane energy. Truesteel clashed with demonic metal.

On a nearby platform an elf garbed in black and purple armor, with a hood over his head glanced over to a blonde elf clothed in purple and white robes. He gave a small chuckle as a massive amount of runic energy began to swirl around him. "You ready to face the end of the world?"

The blonde elf chuckled, fel energy flaring up around him much in the same way the runic power was surrounding his friend. His friend that he had fought so many struggles with. "I thought you'd _never_ ask."

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed it! As I stated before the character will be appear in the main story eventually but I just couldn't resist putting this out here for a bit of a preview now! Thanks for reading! Have a great day!**


	4. Chapter 4: Confusion

**Hey everyone! Just a little one-shot that I thought up while I was hiking today and decided to whip up for fun. This chapter is NOT meant to be taken seriously at all. While this is not anything horrible, I'm still going to be raising the story's age rating up to M, more because I just feel better 'being safe than sorry' than anything else. The next chapter for the main story should be up soon!**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Confusion

* * *

To say that Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company Empire, was confused was putting her current state of mind mildly.

She had just returned from the library after a grueling few hours of tutoring Ruby in history, something she had only agreed to after the young team leader had basically begged her for her assistance, stating that it would be the only way that she would be passing the class with anything more than a mediocre grade.

It had been going well at first. Ruby had started the tutoring session rather well behaved and attentive, but by the end of the hour Weiss nearly wanted to pull her hair out. Ruby had long stopped paying attention, opting instead to play some game on her Scroll while Weiss attempted to teach her, only to let out a groan of frustration when she suddenly lost on the last level of the game.

Needless to say the lesson lasted only a few more seconds after that.

And so Weiss stormed out of the library, stating that teaching Ruby anything more that day would clearly be bad for her already stressed mental well-being. Her plan had been to go to her dorm, put on some relaxing music, and fall asleep.

Now though? Now she found herself kneeling on the ground, her ear pressed lightly against her own dorm door like some novice soy attempting to get dirt on their target.

'Why' you ask? Because inside she heard the voices of none other than Wrath and Blake discussing something seemingly private, if their hushed voices were anything to go on.

"Isn't this Yang's bed?" Wrath's voice said from beyond the doorway, his voice almost a whisper.

"Yeah why?" Blake's calm voice replied, not nearly as soft as Wrath's, but hushed none the less. Weiss could not help but to notice how close the voices seemed to be to each other.

"Are you sure we should do this here? She might get annoyed." Wrath sounded nervous. As if he were doing something he knew would get either he or Blake into trouble.

"It'll be fine. We'll just have to change the sheets afterwards." Weiss' eyes narrowed at this. Not many things would justify having to change bed sheets. At least not many 'wholesome' things.

"Wouldn't she still notice the smell?" Wrath still seemed nervous.

"Well the entire room is going to smell anyway, so it really doesn't matter where we do it." Weiss nearly tripped over onto the ground face first at this. ' _Do it'?_ Just what was going on behind that door? Hopefully not what she was expecting.

"Alright... How do you get this thing off?" Wrath's voice seemed much calmer now. Weiss was not sure if that was a good or bad thing at this point. He certainly seemed much more comfortable with whatever was going on behind that door now...

"Just pull it off Wrath, it's not rocket science." There was a shifting sound in the room, specifically of bedsprings moving under the weight of someone shifting their weight on top of them. Were they on the bed now?!

" _Oh_ okay. There we go."

It grew silent for a moment, aside from the drumming in the young heiress's ears from the pounding of her heart. She knew that Blake had kept that old _'Ninjas of Love'_ book hidden away, but she would never do something so... _Wrong_... Would she?

"Well? Are you going to start?" Blake's voice arose from the silence after what felt like an eternity. There was more shifting around. The bed audibly groaned as it seemingly struggled to support both the elf and faunus.

"Are you sure about this Blake? It looks a little dry..." Wrath's voice was certainly one of discontent. Weiss though nearly sighed with relief, until of course Blake spoke up once more.

"Just stick your finger in it." Blake's voice replied softly, though her words were obviously laced with humor. She was certainly having fun with whatever they were doing in there.

"You want me to stick my finger in _That_?" Wrath's voice was one of... Disgust? That certainly was a surprise. Maybe he was just acting in such a way to trick Blake into thinking she was in charge. Yes, Weiss nodded, that had to be it.

"Yeah just stick it in and move it around, it should come out wet." Weiss swallowed the lump in her throat. Why was she listening to this? She should just barge in that room and drag both of them out by their ears, elven and feline.

"I think I'll pass if that's alright with you."

"Oh come on. _Watch."_ Weiss held her breath. She heard shifting. Was Blake really?-... _No._ No she would _never_... "See? It's wet underneath."

"Yeah it's wet alright... Almost watery. I don't think this is going to work." Oh he was good, Weiss thought, Blake probably thought she was in complete control; the poor girl.

"It's going to work, just trust me." Blake certainly spoke as if she were in control. Weiss just wanted to run in there and save her friend! But what would she find?...

" _Ah!..._ Crap it's on my _face_!" What was that damn elf's face near?!

"Sorry!" Blake was giggling. Not laughing. Giggling. This was... No! _NO!_

"Let's just start. If I sit like this any longer my legs are going to fall asleep." She could not let this go on. The sky itself would fall before Weiss Schnee would let one of her friends be taken in such a way! _She would let no harm come to Blake!_

"Alright, just grab my-..." And so, with all her strength, she rammed her shoulder into the door, opening it with a loud bang that echoed throughout the dormitory hallway.

"JUST _WHAT_ IS GOING ON-..." Weiss stopped right there at the sight before her. True to her suspicions Wrath and Blake were both on Yang's bed. However they were both completely clothed, and in between them sat two large metal cans. "...-Here?..."

It was then she realized what was going on. Blake had mentioned that morning that she was going to attempt to paint the wall over a black mark that Yang had made the other day when she was annoyed with Goodwitch.

She had just barged into the two of them painting. The entire time, they had been getting ready to paint?

"Oh hey Weiss." Blake said as she glanced over to her white haired teammate, who looked as if she had just been kissed by Jaune. "Can you go and see if there's anymore paint around campus? These cans are both either dried up or watery..."

"I... But _you_... I heard..." Weiss took a deep breath into her lungs. "You know what... _Forget it."_

She went back to the library after that. Teaching Ruby, it turns out, was probably much better for her sanity than she had previously thought.


	5. Chapter 5: Star Wars

**Hey everyone! Just a little oneshot that I wrote in literally half an hour (so forgive my horrible writing style in this chapter!) as more of a PSA than anything! I'm just letting you all know that if you end up seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens tonight to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE not reveal ANY spoilers to those who have not yet seen the movie! If you want to rant to someone about it, then rant to me in a PM since I saw it yesterday, but keep all spoilers off public places please! Enjoy!**

* * *

Star Wars

* * *

Downtown Vale was currently a swamp of eager people, young and old, all races and creeds. Towering in middle of the massive sea of people was a large neon lit movie theatre, it's bright lights casting a massive, bright beacon of light into the sky like a star.

The RWBY/JNPR group, along with Wrath who was here more for Blake than anything, had been waiting for this night for months, Ruby especially. It was finally the premier night for the film that she had been waiting with giddy anticipatoin for over a year for; Star Wars.

She had always loved the fanchise as a child, and often made Yang sit and watch the movies with her when they were children. Of course Yang would always protest at first, exclaiming how they had seen the movies enough times already, but would inevitably give into her young sister.

In the theatre, among the buckets of popcorn and throngs of people waiting in line to see their movie of choice, the group attempted to weave through the

"Is it on?! Did we miss the beginning?!" Ruby, who's face had been painted to resemble Darth Maul, cried with distress clear in her voice as she rushed up to the ticket liaison, who backed away in surprise before recovering rather quickly, leaning back over the booth.

"No miss, you're just in time." The employee said with a bright smile on her face, though it was overshadowed by Ruby's own overjoyed expression at the good news.

"Oh thank you! Here!" Ruby exclaimed, thrusting a wad of tickets in the direction of the movie theatre worker, who took them and quickly scanned each one, a small green light appearing on the booth with each valid ticket.

"That seems to be tickets for everyone!" The employee announced, the smile on her face never disappearing. Reaching over to the rope beside her she unlatched the hook that held it in place before handing the ticket wad back over to Ruby, who's smile only seemed to grow with each passing moment. "Enjoy the show miss."

 _"EEEE!"_ Ruby squealed, not even stopping to glance back at her friends before she sped into the showing area using her semblance, leaving only a flurry of red rose petals in her wake.

The others were quick to follow the little red reaper, all funneling into the dark room, only to find Ruby frantically looking around for seats. There was only a small cluster of seats in the middle of the theatre.

"Seats! We need more seats!" Ruby cried as she rushed over to the unoccupied seats. True to what she had said, the cluster was one seat short. The look on Ruby's face could only be described with terror.

"Don't panic!" Yang, who was garb bed in the robes of a Jedi, said as she and the others strolled over to the seats. "We can do this!"

"How can I _not_ panic?!" Ruby exclaimed as she flailed her arms in every direction, nearly hitting a few of the other movie goers surrounding them. A moment later everyone claimed one of the empty seats. Everyone expect for Yang, who was left standing.

"Someone's sitting on someone's lap!" Yang announced, or rather ordered, as those present all glanced around at each other, unsure of who would make the sacrifice to double up during the movie. Eventually though Yang groaned loudly and pointed a finger in the direction of the group. "Blake, Wrath, you two are nominated!"

"Wait what?" Blake, who was dressed in the uniform of a rebellion soldier, asked her usual calm tone heightened slightly as a blush appeared on her face. Wrath and her were friends of course but would he be alright with her on his lap for 2 hours?

"We know you'll end up there anyway!" Yang exclaimed with a cheeky grin on her face, causing the blush on the faunus's face to grow all the more dark, nearly as red as Ruby's cape.

"Come on the previews are almost done!" Ruby interrupted, resisting the urge to actually physically push Blake out of the seat and over in Wrath's direction. She was far from a demanding or harsh person; but this was Star Wars dangit!

"Move your foot then." Blake finally said after she shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the blush that had snuck onto her face.

"Just crawl over Weiss!" Ruby ordered, her voice uncharacteristically authoritarian. Blake was taken aback by this. Apparently Ruby took Star Wars more seriously than previously thought.

" _Excuse_ me?!" Weiss, who had replaced her combat skirt for the night in favor of a full imperial officer uniform, hissed as Blake was about to start her journey over their group.

Suddenly a strange dark hand suddenly shot out, wrapping itsekf around Blake's waist before it yanked in her into the air and onto Wrath's lap. The blood elf then tilted his head to Weiss. "Happy?"

 _"Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ Oooohh guys it's starting!" Ruby squeled as she wriggled her butt into the chair, her silver eyes locked on the silver screen with the smile on her of almost anyone in the theater.

And then it began...

* * *

"That was..." Weiss gasped out as the ending credits flashed up onto the screen.

"Amazing?..." Yang asked, her own gaze unable to tear away from the theatre screen.

"Yeah... _Yeah_ that about covers it..." Ruby answered for Weiss.

They were out of the theatre a few minutes later, bound for Beacon Academy with massive smiles on their faces. They were all completely silent during their walk. No one wanted to say a thing. That is until they entered their hallway, at which point a whirlwind of theories and rants emenated through the halls of the school.

Wrath escaped the scene rather quickly, having a feeling in his gut that Ruby and Yang would be speaking all night. He was more than right in that regard. It had started off rather benign, with the occasional squeal from Ruby of course.

Glynda eventually had to come to quiet the two teams so that the other teams in the hallway could finally get some sleep. At 2 in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6: Visions

**Ok so I know I said I was taking a break, and wasn't planning to release a one-shot with this plot until after my break, but I was stuck at a Christmas Eve dinner and I just had my note app on my iphone so I just sorta... Started writing. By the end of the dinner I had this. So enjoy!**

 **Oh one more thing; this takes place around the middle of Warlords of Draenor/The Vytal Festival. (SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 IN THIS CHAPTER!)**

* * *

Soldiers and robots stood in a circle, their weapons at the ready. They all aimed at a girl, who's face was one of confusion and fear.

" _Yang Xiao Long_! Stand down!" The living soldier ordered as his crosshair centered on the young woman, ready to end her life if need be.

"What?! _Why?!"_ She cried, taking a step back when the soldier provided her with no answer.

Crowds around her booed and jeered. On the ground before her was a young man, clutching at his clearly broken leg, his face contorted in pain.

"Mercury!" A green haired woman ran up to the injured young man, her red eyes filled with nothing but hatred for Yang Xiao Long.

"Why'd she do that?!..." The boy cried as he gazed up at the green haired girl, his eyes filled with tears. " _Why'd she attack me?!..."_

The soldiers drew towards her. There was no escape. No escape. She could not run, and she could not hide from them.

The crowds that were gathered in the stadium wanted blood for blood, and she was set clearly in their sights.

An example would no doubt be made of her.

They approached her, closing in like the jaws of a beast around a helpless victim.

* * *

Varimas' hood and mask covered head shot up from his desk as he let out a massive gasp of surprise, attempting to collect air into his dry lungs.

"Var? What's wrong?" A voice from across the room asked. When the Warlock glanced over he found none other than Wrath sitting in the corner, silently petting Carcharoth as the demon rested its head on the Death Knight's leg.

"I'm..." Varimas trailed off, glancing around the room as if searching for something among the massive shelves of times and scrolls. "I'm not _sure_..."

Wrath tilted his head as he stared at his friend hunched over at his desk like he had just seen a ghost.

"I feel like... Something _horrible_ just happened..." Felfire began to build up around Varimas, the candle on his desk catching alight. "...Something _really_ horrible..."

"It's probably just your imagination." Wrath dismissed with a wave of the hand. "You've been on edge ever since our armies arrived on Draenor."

"No... No Wrath... This was a vision of sorts, at least I think. More of... A glimpse into another world..." Varimas explained, proving his elbows on his desk and his chin in his hands, letting out a sigh. "It's been so long since I stopped my magister training... How did I receive a vision?..."

"What was it of?" Wrath asked, though his tone suggested that he was not all on board with his friend's so called 'vision'.

Not because he did not believe in magic. Oh no; that was essentially impossible. But the wine glass resting in Varimas' hand certainly did not lend credibility to the sudden 'vision'.

"A _human girl_. She had blonde hair... She was being surrounded, and she was looking over at a crowd of humans and animal people..." Varimas said as he moved his mask ever so slightly out of the way from his face, taking a small sip of the wine, before repositioning the mask in front of his face once more. "They were booing at her."

"Animal people? Like _Druids_?" Wrath asked, genuinely curious for but a moment. That is until Varimas uttered his response.

"No... They were _humans_ but..." Varimas wove his hand around in the air. "They _weren't_ human..."

" _Uh huh..._ Alright, that's it, give me the glass Var." Wrath ordered as he pushed Carcharoth off of his leg. He pulled himself to his feet and began to make his way over his friend.

However when he attempted to make a reach for the glass, Varimas slapped Wrath's hand away. "I'm not drunk!... And I know what I saw... She... She was _innocent_! He..."

"Innocent? What the hell's gotten into you? You _**hate**_ humans!" Wrath exclaimed, not entirely sure how to handle his friend in his present state.

"Nothing I just..." Varimas let out a long sigh, letting the tension in his arms fade away. "Nothing..."

" _Okayyy_ then... I think you need to calm down for a minute." Wrath said, plucking the glass from Varimas, who offered no resistance to his friend now. "What else was happening?"

"I saw three other girls. One with black and red hair, one with white hair, and one with black hair and a bow on her head. They all looked mortified." The Warlock muttered, shaking his head solemnly.

"Listen... This whole _'Shadow Council'_ issue has really stressed you out recently..." Wrath said, placing the glass back on the table. "Why don't you just go to bed? We can talk about this in the morning."

"Your probably right.. Very well. I'll head to my quarters." Varimas exclaimed as he stood, holding his shoulders high. "Goodnight Wrath."

"Night." Wrath muttered, never moving from his spot at he watched Varimas stumble drunkenly up the stairs, cracking a smile when he heard a crash followed by a 'goddamnit' from Varimas.

As the knight manipulated glass in his hand, watching as the red liquid sloshed about in the cup, Wrath let out a soft sigh.

"Animal people? Right... Like _that_ could ever happen." Wrath chuckled as he took a sip from Varimas' glass.

Placing the glass back on the desk with a loud tap, Wrath let out a sigh before strolling over to one of the many shelves filled with books.

Looks like sleep would elude him tonight as well.

* * *

They had never spoken of the issue after that day. Both Varimas and Wrath had, in the end, chalked it up to nerves getting the better of the blonde elf.

He had lived with that explanation. It was good enough. It requires no follow up after all. No worries for what sort of message may have been missed.

But now?...

Varimas glanced down at the blonde young woman who lay peacefully on the makeshift surgery table before him.

"That girl... From my vision... All those months ago... That was... _You..."_ Varimas muttered

She looked so weak. So vulnerable. So much different from the warrior on the arena that night.

Just what had they done to her for that?...

Varimas shook his head vigorously before turning his attention back to the final steps of the surgery. There would be time for questions later. For now, he had to finish the final stages of this procedure...

* * *

 **I know! I'm sorry it's so short! Writing a one-shot on an iphone kinda... skews the apparent length of the chapter. Thanks for reading anyway though! I promise a longer one-shot will be next! Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: Mistakes Were Made

**Hey! Remember how I said I was taking a break? Yeah, turns out large scale family conversations provide the perfect opportunity to write. Anyway, I just thought this was a funny little idea, the next oneshot should be out soon enough! Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Mistakes Were Made_**

* * *

"Oh Wraaaath? Where are you?" A voice called out in the gardens of Beacon academy, followed closely by an ear splitting crash as yet another section of the prestigious academy was destroyed in a whirlwind of sword strikes.

Students and teachers alike fled from the gardens, screams of panic and terror echoing throughout the campus as their beautiful school was obliterated by the edge of Gambol Shrouds blade, its owner stalking around, slashing random objects down in hopes of locating her friend.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Blake muttered, her amber eyes scanning through the crowds of terrified students, who all shrank away when Blake met their gaze.

Meanwhile on the other side of the gardens, three figures darted into the shade of a clump of trees and bushes, determined to hide from their friend.

It was only when the pained screams of their friends died down that one of the figures spoke.

"Wrath? What's going on?!" Jaune cried as he curled up into an even smaller ball, hoping the shrubs would be able to conceal him. "Why's Blake destroying the school looking for you?!"

"It's a long story that I don't want to bore you with, so if you could just hide me that'd be swell!..." Wrath said with a nervous grin and thumbs up before he attempted to crawl into another bush, only to be pulled out by his cloak by a certain blonde brawler.

"Nuh uh." Yang, who was still standing, spoke up as she laid her hands on her hips. "You either tell us why she's looking for you or I whistle as loud as I can. And believe me... She'll hear me."

"Okay! Okay, just keep it down!..." Wrath begged as he clasped his hands in front of him in a ball, a pleading look on his face.

The three were silent for a moment as the screams of students erupted nearby as a tree was felled. Blake was drawing closer to them.

"Dude what'd you Do?" Yang asked, her posture remaining composed, though her eyes betrayed the small hints of worry that were beginning to worm their way into her mind.

"Uhh..."

* * *

Blake sighed as she pulled her shirt away from her body, throwing it into her bed for later retrieval when her mind and body were more at ease.

It had been the school day from hell, and the faunus had been looking forward to hopping out of her uniform, and into a nice warm bath.

It was always so hard trying to take a relaxing bath at Beacon. Sure, each team was given their own private tub, but it never seemed to be available. Weiss and Yang always took forever, and Zwei always tried to sneak in when Blake ever attempted to bathe.

Blake narrowed her eyes. She swore that dog enjoys her suffering.

As she pulled off her bra and let the air hit her bare skin, she finally let herself relax a little. Maybe once she was done bathing she could head over to the library with a large cup of coffee. That sounded like a great evening.

However, just as her hands traveled downwards to remove the last piece of cloth covering her lower body from the world, she froze as the doorknob began to turn. In her haste to hop into the tub she had forgotten one of the most basic elements of privacy.

To lock the door.

"Hey Blake I-..." An echoey voice said as none other than Wrath entered the room without so much as a knock, silencing himself only when he glanced up and saw more of Blake than he ever thought he would.

 _"WRATH?!"_ The faunus shrieked, throwing her arms around herself in a desperate attempt to retain her dignity, though judging by the color of Wrath's face, she had already failed in that department.

Wrath almost immediately dropped the bag he had been carrying as his mouth hung open. "Oh my-..."

* * *

"So you made a mistake. Big deal." Jaune said with a small shrug as he finally stood from his hiding position in the bushes. "Blake isn't the type to kill you over that."

"Uh..." Wrath rubbed the back of his head as her nervously glanced from side to side, they had not heard any recent destruction of school property. Where did Blake go anyway?

"...What?..." Yang interjected, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the Death Knight who seemed even more nervous than before, if that were even possible.

"Well..." Wrath trailed off, opting instead to renew his nervous smile that told Yang and Jaune all that they needed to know.

"Oh god please tell me you didn't say something stupid." Yang muttered as she lay her hand against her forehead, letting out a sigh.

* * *

 _"WRATH?!"_ Blake shrieked, throwing her arms around herself in a desperate attempt to retain her dignity, though judging by the color of Wrath's face, she had already failed in that department.

Wrath almost immediately dropped the bag he had been carrying as his mouth hung open. "Oh my-..."

" _DON'T LOOK!"_ The ninja yelled once more, her eyes wild with complete panic as she hastily searched for her shirt.

Then she glanced over to her bed where it lay. With a happy looking Zwei right on top of it, wagging its tail proudly.

Damn. That. Dog.

"That..." Wrath began as one of his damn smirks appeared on his face, crossing his arms over his torso, though in a much more casual way than the Faunus before him. "...Is a sight I won't be forgetting for a _Long_ time."

"You'd better forget it!" Blake ordered, turning her attention back to Wrath as she bared her teeth, though they appeared to be more like fangs at the moment. "Wrath I swear, if you don't turn around-..."

"Well maybe if you drop your arms I will." He said it without thinking. He had no idea why, it just sort of came out. Damn his mouth.

* * *

"And that's what happened. I admit mistakes were made but I mean come on, it's not like she didn't know I was thinking it!" Wrath attempted to justify as he stared at the ground giving an exaggerated shrug.

He had been expecting the scolding of a lifetime from Yang, or at least a punch or two. Which is why when neither occurred after nearly a full ten seconds, the Blood Elf gathered his courage to glance up.

"Guys? Where'd you-..." He cut himself off as Yang and Jaune came into his view. They tied up with long ribbon and gagged, with terror in their eyes as they look at him. "W-... Wait what?"

Wrath was on his feet in a moment, backing up against a tree as his eyes darted around the clearly, desperately searching for any sign of the feline faunus.

Then he heard it. A small snap echoed throughout the clearing as a branch snapped above him. It was not all that loud, but to the Death Knight, it may as well have been about as loud as a gunshot.

 _"OH SH-..."_

The last thing Wrath saw before he was beaten senseless was a pair of amber eyes rapidly approaching him from the tree line above.

* * *

 **Poor Wrath. We knew him well. Anyway, the next oneshot should be out soon enough! Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: Revival Troubles

**Hey everyone! So this one-shot is a little different than the others that I've done so far, for the main reason that it's plot is taken from a machinima. The machinima is by Nixxiom and Mooclucking, and full credit for the base of the plot goes to them! I also included 3 jokes from other rather popular machinimas. If you watch such things regularly, then I recommend you keep an eye out for them; I'd love to know if you guys can spot them! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Revival Troubles_**

* * *

"So I have an idea." Wrath said, breaking the silence as he and Varimas rode their respective mounts across the arid and lifeless landscapes of the Barrens, the hooves of both dreadsteed and deathcharger charring the ground on which they rode. They had left a small horde outpost only a few hours beforehand with Ratchet as their destination.

 _"No."_ Varimas answered simply, never taking his eyes off of the wide path before them. He knew exactly where Wrath would be going with this. The entire reason they were even in the Barrens was because they had taken another unstable portal created by the warlock, and Wrath and Varimas left Blake and Yang behind in hopes of acquiring funds to head back to the Eastern Kingdoms.

"What? What'dya mean _no_?" Wrath asked, his eyebrows raised, glancing over to his masked friend, who never even flinched.

"The last time you had an _'Idea_ ' I almost lost my arm... And my everything else." The warlock replied in a deadpan voice, increasing the speed of his steed slightly in an attempt to show he wanted the conversation to be drawn out no further. Wrath however quickly caught up and continued.

"You're exaggerating." He pressured, rolling his eyes. At least Varimas thought so. It was always kind of hard to tell with Wrath's eyes.

" _No no,_ I think that Gronn was pretty intent on seeing if he could make me into an art project." Varimas hissed, subconsciously bringing his hand over to his other arm, rubbing it softly as he shook his head, attempting to force the memory of that incident out of his mind.

"Hey we killed it didn't we?"

"I was confined to a wheelchair for a _week_ until the priests got to the Garrison!" Varimas yelled, finally turning his full attention to Wrath as both elves halted their steeds and turned their shoulders to face one another.

"And I remember you being a lot more agreeable when you knew I could just push you down the stairs for fun." Wrath answered with a snicker, his pointed teeth visible to the world as he chuckled.

"My point here is that you're nuts, and your plans usually end with either one or both of us covered in blood." Varimas replied, jabbing an accusing finger in Wrath's direction.

"But we'll need the money to charter a ship to ferry us to booty bay from here, and that Troll mother back at the outpost was willing to pay us to find her daughter." The Death Knight reasoned, directing his own finger in the direction they had come from, where the outpost lay somewhere in the distance, out of sight.

"Hey, you were the one who trusted my portals again. You would think you would have learned your lesson by now." Varimas muttered, pulling out the map that was hidden in his pouch, just to make sure they were not headed towards Durotar.

"You'd think..." Wrath sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Man Blake is going to kill me if she realizes we don't have enough gold to pay our way back to the Eastern Kingdoms..."

"How tragic." Varimas mused, laying a gloved hand on his metal mask that covered his face in a sad gesture. "Well _'honey'_ I hope you know how to make kitties purr because-..."

"Varimas one more pussy joke and I'll tear out your throat." Wrath threatened as a rune blade suddenly found itself right in front of Varimas' throat, it's razor sharp blade finding it's way just under the Warlock's chin.

"Fine, no help for you then. You took the quest, you do the quest." Varimas said, pushing the tip of the rune blade away from his face with his finger, careful to not pierce his skin on the dark weapon.

"Oh come on Var!" Wrath loudly exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation. "I promise you, you won't be in any danger of losing an arm, or covered in blood! Just help me with this!"

* * *

"This is stupid." Varimas growled as he pushed aside another sign that clearly read 'Beware: Raptor Territory', glaring daggers into Wrath's back all the while as they both treaded through the jagged bushes and bramble thorns that hid the area from sight from the rest of the Barrens.

"You just don't recognize my genius." Wrath replied as he slayer through a particularly large patch of thorns with his rune blade, the withered plant bursting into strange blue flames as they made contact with the enchanted weapon.

"I don't think genius is the word I would use." The Warlock muttered dryly, crossing his arms as the glare he had been directing at his friend only intensified. Sometim he wondered if his transformation into a Death Knight really did make him mindless.

"Just shut up and help me find this lady!"

"Don't you think this is... _Dangerous_?" Varimas asked, lifting his robe off of the ground as he carefully avoided what he could only assume was a large pile of feces. He was probably going to kill Wrath after this. "Can't raptors run really fast? Do we have an escape route if a few decide that we've outstayed our welcome?"

"Why do you think you're here?" Wrath asked as he glanced back at his friend was a smug grin, his teeth glinting in the sunlight.

Scratch that. He was definitely going to.

 _"What?!"_

"Nothing." Wrath quickly replied before casually tossing Varimas a hunk of raw meat. Meat that had been purchased back at the outpost with the intent of baiting predators for more lean meat should the two have had to resort to hunting. "Hold this."

"I hate you." Varimas growled as he stared as the chunk of whatever sort of animal he was holding in his hand with distain. Why was he not just tossing it away again? Oh right; because it would no doubt attract every Raptor within a mile, and they would go for him without a doubt.

" _Aww._ I'm flattered." Wrath said as he pretended to hide his blushing face, though a grin was present instead.

Varimas could only growl ashe contemplated just flat out lunging for Wrath, but stopped himself when the Death Knight suddenly halted, his face contorted to one of pure concentration.

"Hey wait..." Wrath muttered, loudly sniffing at the air. After a moment of this, the elven knight slowly approached a clearing and grimaced. He was afraid of this. "Well I think I found her... Right over there."

Varimas was quick to follow where Wrath's finger was pointing to, only to spot a pile of meat visibly rotting in the intense sunlight. The stink lines were practically visible. "Wrath... That's just a pile of meat. I know that mother you spoke to was ugly, but not even trolls look this bad."

"Look closer." Wrath instructed as he strolled over to the corpse, followed closely by Varimas, who nearly gagged at the smell. "You can clearly see what used to be her tusks and the red hair."

"Wrath her hair is _covered in blood_." Varimas commented flatly, his voice devoid of any humor.

"Yeah well raptors aren't exactly known for their high class dining etiquette." Wrath joked, carelessly poking the corpse of the young troll girl with his boot, chuckling when the meat quivered at the impact.

"They're probably better at the table than you are."

"Oh whatever. Not like it matters." Wrath sighed he before turned back to the road and began to head towards the mounts of both elves, which were gazing at each other as if knowing how insane their masters were. "Well, no use wasting our time here, let's go."

"Wait what? Aren't we going to bring her back?" Varimas asked, causing Wrath to stop in his tracks with a sigh.

"Why would we? Her mother isn't going to pay us for a pile of meat." Wrath explained, giving a small shrug as he sent a careless glance back over to the corpse of the young troll girl.

"Cant you just revive her?"

" _Ohhhhh no_! No way!" Wrath suddenly seemed to come right back to life, jumping in his armor as he put his hands up in the air, shaking his head vigorously while Varimas stared back at him, unmoving.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I'm not reviving her; remember what happened the last time I tried reviving someone?" Wrath asked, raising his eyebrows as his companions eyes widened in realization.

"Oh... _Right_..." Varimas muttered shivering at the horrible memory that plagued his mind. That had been a very bad, and very messy, day for everyone in Silvermoon. "I've never seen so many people clear out of a marketplace so quickly..."

"There, then it's settled. Let's just go beat a merchant to death or something for the money." Wrath was about to continue on his way back to the mounts until Varimas spoke up once more.

" _Ah, ah, ah!_ Not yet! You forget Wrath, I happen to posses the ability to revive the dead as well." Varimas stated proudly, his hands on his hips as Wrath stared at him blankly. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Varimas let the air out of his lungs in one massive puff, his shoulders slumping down. "My soulstones ice-for-brains."

"Your soulstones? Yeah, that sounds like it will _absolutely_ work on her." Wrath muttered, crossing his arms over his chest, subconsciously fiddling with the Ebon Blade tabard he wore.

"See? We agree."

"I was being sarcastic. She's a pile of meat. What're you gonna do? Return her soul to the small section of rotting flesh to the right or the one to the left?" Wrath asked, pointing to each chunk of rotting meat as he spoke. Varimas brought a hand up and flicked the Death Knight in the forehead in response.

"Oh just shut up and help me. I have a theory." Varimas said as he kneeled down next to the corpse of the troll, running his gloved finger along the few latches of skin that still remained on the body of the troll.

"Oh _fantastic_." Wrath groaned, clearly finished with the situation currently at hand. "Listen, I know you like to play necromancer, but I want to get to Ratchet before nightfall."

"Listen. You know how you can raise ghouls?" Varimas glanced up from the corpse of the girl, waiting for a nod from Wrath.

"Mhmm?"

"Well what if you raise her corpse as a ghoul, and just as you do I'll force a soulstone on her!" Varimas explained, his fist impacting his open palm as a smile appeared on his face, hidden by his felfume mask. "She won't look anywhere near as... _Er.. Healthy_ as before, but she'll at least be conscious and able to move around."

"Huh... You know that's actually not a bad idea..." Wrath conceded before kneeling down, bringing himself level with the fresh corpse and his friend, who also turned his attention back to their 'patient'. "Fine, what do I have to do?"

"Just raise her like any other ghoul, and I'll force a soulstone in as you do." Varimas explained as he balled his fist up. When he brought his fingers apart once more, a small purple and black sphere rested in his palm, radiating a shadowy aura as Varimas rolled it around in his hand.

"Alright... Here goes..." Wrath began to channel runic energy into the troll girls body in an attempt to raise her, his hands glowing with the magical energy that danced between his fingertips.

"Ok..." Varimas whispered, bringing the soulstone closer and closer to the corpse of the girl, his breathing ragged. "Carefully..."

The obsidian and purple orb of power touched the troll's skin.

* * *

"This stuff's nasty..." Blake gagged, sticking her tongue out as she gazed into the mug that she was holding, a white liquid sloshing around in the wooden container. She was not sure why she thought ordering something like milk would turn out well at a grimy pub, but she chose to be optimistic. Perhaps foolishly so. "I'm pretty sure this isn't really milk..."

"I hear ya." Yang agreed, leaning her chin against her hand as she stared out of the pub window at the bustling port town. "Man I would kill for a _Strawberry Sunrise_ right about now."

"Well if you want one then ask the goblin for the ingredients to make it." The faunus replied, motioning over to the bar.

"That's what that ' _thing_ ' is?" Yang asked shooting a glance over at the Goblin bartender who was silently cleaning mugs with an old rag, stopping to stare back at the brawler with back with a glare, causing Yang to recoil and dart her attention back to Blake. " _Yeahhh_... I think I'll pass. I can get one when we get back to Beacon."

"Suit yourself..." Blake said as she brought the cup back up to her lips, sipping on the milk for a few moments before she slammed the drink back down onto the table, pressing her free hand against her mouth as her eyes widened. _"Urk!..."_

" _Woah!_ Don't upchuck on me girl!" Yang cried in panic, raising her hands in defense, ready to dodge should Blake end up earning the secondary honorary version of Jaune's nickname.

"I'm fine... I'm fine..." Blake gasped after forcing herself to swallow the liquid in her mouth, secretly spitting onto the floor in order to rid herself of the taste that remained in her mouth.

Suddenly, before Yang could make fun of her friend for her ridiculous mistake, a loud slam echoed throughout the pub as the door was flung open, an infuriated Wrath and Varimas strolling into the pub, completely covered in blood, a moment later.

Blake was on her feet in a moment with a gasp, sprinting over to the Warlock and Death Knight while Yang glanced over at the drink Blake had been forcing down. A moment later she snatched it from the table, taking a small sip from the mug, only to spit it out only a few seconds later. "Eww..."

"Wrath! What happened?! Who's blood is this?" Blake asked as she reached the two elves, stopping a few extra feet away than she normally would from Wrath, not wanting to be covered in blood herself.

" _Just_... Just don't ask..." Wrath muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose with his hand, leaving behind a bloody mark on his face that made the blood elf look all the more ridiculous.

"Ask about what?" Blake asked, suddenly confused. Was it not their blood? And if not, who's was it?

"We tried to do a quest to get the money to charter a boat. We failed. Leave it at that." Varimas muttered, wiping some of the excess blood from his sleeves, leaving small puddles of blood on the wooden floor.

" _Hey_! Ya two elves! Ya gettin' blood all over my floor!" The Goblin bartender, who had only just noticed the state that Varimas and Wrath were in, screamed as he threw down the mug that he had been cleaning, stomping over to the two elves baring his teeth.

"What was that?..." Wrath asked the bartender as he drew near, his voice quiet yet deadly serious.

"Whadd'ya think you twos are doin' walkin' around my bar covered in-..." The Goblin was cut off as Wrath's hands shot out towards him, lifting him into the air effortlessly. Not exactly an unusual feat given the average goblins size. "Hey! Hey! What's da big ide-..."

He was silenced a moment later when Wrath chucked the little green man behind his own bar, before leaping over the table to begin beating the Goblin mercilessly, his metal gauntlets easily causing massive damage with each blow. The Goblin tried to scream of course, but was quickly silenced by yet another fist to the jaw, rending his screams for mercy no more than incoherent gurgles.

"Wrath! Woah! Thats not robbing him!" Varimas exclaimed, approaching the bar, only to back peddle when he noticed the scene behind the bar, and the extra blood coating Wrath's armor.

 _"JUST LET ME HAVE THIS!"_

"You know what... _Whatever..._ Stick this in his chest when you're done..." Varimas sighed as he created another soulstone, tossing it on the floor next to Wrath who placed it aside before continuing his assault on the Goblin.

Blake had to sigh at this. These two were the most unique people she had ever met, that was for sure. Knowing Wrath and Varimas, it would be hours before Blake and Yang could tell them that they were able to get passage to the Eastern Kingdoms for free.

Oh well. The Goblin kind of deserved it for that awful milk. At least that's what Blake told herself as she strolled back to her seat, pulling out a small scroll to read while Wrath finished venting his frustrations.

Azerothians were weird.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Preview of next chapter: "They say that only one man has ever survived it's might, leaving as a steadfast knight of the Light, only to return as a gibbering fool who died later in the evening... Some claim that it returned to finish the job... It lurks in the darkness of the island, claiming all those who enter it's lair... It is unrelenting. It is darkness incarnate... It is fear itself... It is... The beast of Darkmoon..."**


	9. Chapter 9: Beast of Darkmoon

**Alright! Sorry this took so long to get out! I ended up injuring my hand a couple days ago so I couldn't write for any extended period of time unfortunately. Thankfully I was able to think of a few different ideas for oneshots, and I think I've finalized the finer plot details for the next two chapters of Broken Wings so the planning stages for those is already finished! Enjoy!**

* * *

Beast of Darkmoon

* * *

They say, in a small isle located somewhere in the massive expanse of Azeroth's Great Sea, a special event is held. This event is the talk of the citizens of both Alliance and Horde, young and old, human and orc alike.

It is an event shrouded in mystery, perfectly mimicking the fog shrouded isle that it rests upon. It is a phenomenon that takes center stage the first week of every month. It is fun incarnate, it is the unforgettable sensation.

It is the Darkmoon Faire.

"Oh man! This place has got everything!" Ruby cried loudly as she ran up to Blake and Wrath, who were lounging on crudely contracted wooden bleachers, waiting for a small show to be put on. Wrath had raved at Blake for days about how they were a band that 'she absolutely had to see'.

"Told you." Wrath chuckled, tilting his head to face the young reaper, who he noticed was wearing quite a bit of merchandise that no doubt originated from the fair. Just how many tickets had she won? "You're having fun I take it?"

"Heck yeah! We all are." Ruby replied, squeezing the oversized Murloc plush in her arms, before leaning over to the two, whispering none too subtly, "You didn't thear it from me, but I think even Weiss is having a good time."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Blake commented, one of her usual calm smiles plastered to her face. It was nice to see Ruby so happy. After her injury, Blake had been half worried that Ruby was going to lose that innocence that made Ruby, Ruby. Thankfully that was far from the case.

"Then come on! You've gotta see this!" Ruby cried loudly, hopping up and down in front of the faunus and blood elf, before a wide grin appeared upon her face. "And maybe take a couple dozen pictures. Just incase she tries to deny it later!"

"We have enough time before the show?" Blake asked, turning to Wrath, who gave a curt nod at the question.

"Yeah, it doesn't start for another half hour or so." Wrath explained, before redirecting his attention back to Ruby, who had not ceased her incessant bouncing. Did she ever stop moving? "Lead the way."

All three were whipped away in a flurry but a moment later, the only evidence they had ever been present at all was the layer of rose petals that coated the bleachers where Wrath and Blake were once seated.

Ruby soon brought the two to where the others were, all gathered around a small booth playing some form of dart throwing game, with Weiss at the center, holding a singular dart, glaring at the remaining balloon on the board. The others had taken care of the balloons before her, so all she had to do was land this one shot...

"Hey Weiss!" Ruby yelled. And there it went, nearly sailing into the old, grumpy looking goblin attending the booth, who only ducked at the last moment with a loud yelp of surprise as the metal projectile sailed past his bulbous nose.

"Hey! Watch it kid!" The goblin ground before turning his attention back to his stock, grumbling something about humans that Ruby could not quite catch.

As Wrath took in the scene before him, he noticed something strange. Yang was not among those present. After a few seconds of scanning the surrounding area, the elf finally noticed Yang a few meters away with Varimas and Anduin watching as group of people crowded around a large armored Orc.

"And we'll be the ones to take it down!" The Orc cried, eliciting a cheer form the other Horde members that had gathered around him and even a few Alliance members that had also mingled in between the throngs of Trolls and Tauren.

At this Varimas, Anduin, and Yang all turned back to the group, each ambling towards them at their own pace. Once they were close enough Wrath asked, "What're they hooting about over there?"

"Moonfang. A Kal'dorei spotted the wolf last night, now a group of Horde and Alliance members have convened to attempt a takedown." Varimas explained as he leaned against the wooden surface of the booth.

"Hopefully they will all return safely... I've heard Moonfang can be quite the challenge." Anduin added, before taking a small sip from the drink he had aquired from one of the many food vendors dotting the carnival.

"Ha!... Moonfang ain't all that tough... At least... He ain't the toughest thing on this island." The old looking goblin, who had previously been checking his stock of un-popped balloons still in the booth, interjected as he turned his attention to the group leaning against the booth. "Only a footnote compared to the true terror of this fog shrouded speck of land..."

"The true terror?" Blake asked, laying her hand on her hip, which was tilted to one side.

"Yeah. Folks around here call it 'The Beast of Darkmoon..." The goblin saud, waving his fingers in a flashy manner, though his face displayed a much more somber tone. "A horrifying monstrosity that claims man and woman alike..."

"Beast of Darkmoon huh? What'd that sucker do to get a name like that? Whats it's story?" Yang asked, crossing her arms across her chest, or more accurately under it.

"Legends say that the beast dines upon hapless adventurers that are foolish enough to stumble into it's lair... Only one man has ever survived a direct confrontation with the fearsome beast..." The goblin explained, lightly tapping his bare finger against the hard wooden table of the booth as he spoke. "He left a steadfast warrior of the Light... And returned half insane from the sights and sounds he was forced to endure in that damned cavern."

"But he recovered though, right? Right?" Ruby asked, giving the goblin a nervous smile, who only shook his head slowly in response.

"Nah... He spent the night at the Faire, in attendance of multiple healers, and several guards..." The goblin seemed to hesitate for a moment as he looked over the group, who had now all stopped what they were doing just to stare at him. "But the next morning all of 'em were found dead, each with their throat torn from their bodies."

Team RWBY let out a collective gasp at the goblin's words. However, those who had originated from Azeroth remained silent. They knew of the legend of the Darkmoon beast, they had heard the tale so many times before. The tales of the avatar of destruction.

"There are whispers... Whispers that the beast of Darkmoon stalked the man all the way back to the Faire... That it had finished what it had started in a shower of blood and gore, taking a room full of innocents with 'im."

"Why haven't you just blown up the cave or sent in some sort of specialists to deal with the beast if it's so dangerous?" Weiss

"Because every time we blow up one cave, it seems to find another... And as for a strike team... Well..." The goblin paused for a moment before he stuck his finger in the direction of three skulls neatly lined on the shelf like trophies. "Here's whats left of 'em."

"...So... Just wondering, where exactly is this monster?" Ruby asked after an uncomfortable silence passed over the group like an invisible shroud, though judging by the curious smile on her face she did not fully grasp the severity as to what she had just been told.

"Eastern coast of the island. Just follow the coast until you reach an opening in the hills. You can't miss it." The goblin instructed, jabbing his outstretched thumb east, away from the rest of the Faire.

"Alrighty! Thanks mister green man!" Ruby zoomed off using her semblance, leaving a trail of petals in her wake for her comrades to track her.

The others were quick to give chase after Ruby, however before Varimas followed suit he hesitated for a moment before he yanked a gold coin from a snall pouch hanging on his belt, throwing it to the goblin who caught it with a greedy giggle. "Well I'd better go stop them."

"You got it, come back anytime!" The goblin exclaimed, giving a cheery wave as Varimas walked off in the direction his friends had gone. Once the Warlock was sufficiently out of sight the little green creature rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "You know, if ya survive."

* * *

"Listen, I know you four are huntresses, but this isn't something you should be taking so lightly!" Wrath pleaded grabbing onto Blake's shoulders, the desperation on his face as plain as the words written on a book.

"Why not?" Blake asked with confusion in her tone, gently shrugging Wrath's hands off of her, turning her body to face the blood elf, who appeared to only grow all the more concerned at the apparent nonchalant behavior being displayed by team RWBY.

Wrath only had to point towards the entrance of the cave that had only recently come into view. Laying in the wet sand surrounding the rocky formation were bones, lining the surface of the ground near the cave like some sort of demonically inspired path of the damned.

"Um... Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Weiss muttered as she punted a discarded helmet that had been in her path. It impacted a small pile of bones that disappeared in a cloud of thick dust the moment metal touched bone.

"Ah come on Weiss! It'll be fun!" Ruby chirped as she merrily skipped past a sword, it's blade shattered into shards strewn across the soggy ground. Anduin was relatively sure he had seen it's hilt a few meters back with a bony hand still clinging to it like a lifeline. "Besides, think of how many tickets we'll win if we tell them we got rid of the monster for them!"

"You have a point..." Weiss muttered pondering the possibility of winning the unconditional graces of all present at the Faire, and all for doing what they dud best. Hunting monsters. "Plus there was this cute bracelet back at the prize corner that I could only get with tickets..."

"I happen to have my eyes on a few books that one of the vendors was selling as prizes." Blake added, shaking a desperate Wrath off of her as he once again attempted to hold her back from the cave.

"Alright! It's settled!" Yang announced, slamming her gauntlet covered fists together, small parks of Felfire flying in every which direction. "Let's kick this thing's butt!"

Team RWBY cautiously approached the cave in formation after working out a rudimentary plan of attack. Yang and Weiss would distract the monster, and then when it was caught up in chasing them around Blake and Ruby would flank the creature and deliver the killing blow. A solid yet flexible plan.

Unfortunately it would never be put into action, for when they finally did make their way into the cave expecting to come face to face with some form of ogre or dragon, they instead found nothing more than am empty moonlit room. The only living being present other than team RWBY, along with the three terrified Azerothians, was a small white furred bunny sitting in the center of the cave.

The moment the rabbit came into view, the three Azerothians all let out shrieks that would have embarrassed a prepubescent girl and dove behind rocks that were large enough to hide them, leaving the four girls standing in the open, confused as anything.

"So wait... Where's the monster?" Yang asked, the disappointment at not having the opportunity to face such a 'legendary beast' evident in her tone and in the frown that quickly found it's way to her face.

"It's right in front of your face! Don't you see it?!" Wrath screamed from behind his boulder, which was quickly being coated in a thin layer of ice that was beginning to tint the stone a translucent light blue.

"...Please tell me you aren't talking about the bunny..." Blake asked after no one moved for a good five seconds, her forehead cradled firmly in her palm. She really should have expected something like this.

"Of course we are!" Varimas replied as he stuck his head out from behind his boulder, the serious tone in his voice showing no hints of irony, which only compounded the awkward nature of the stares of the girls.

It was quiet for nearly a full minute as team RWBY stared at the boulders that their friends were hiding behind.

Ruby was the first to break the silence with a massive snort, followed by howling laughter that the rest of the girls soon joined in on in ernest, eliciting glares from the three Azerothians, who still silently refused to come forward from their hiding spots.

"Come on girls, let's take care of the 'big bad monster' before these three start crying!" Yang snickered with her teeth bared, throwing her hair back in an exaggerated manner.

"Aw, do we have to? It's so cute!" Ruby squealed as she shuffled over to the bunny, lifting it up into her cradled arms, pressing the creature against her chest. The only response to being lifted from the ground was to wriggle it's nose. "You're just the cutest little thing aren't you? Yes, you are!"

"Ruby... I'm begging you... By all that is Holy... Put. The. Rabbit. Down..." Anduin ordered the red hooded reaper, unbridled terror in his words.

"No way! He's my new buddy!" She responded as she held the bunny out to the other girls, who all immediately crowded around the creature took turns petting it, all of them throwing various compliments around to the rabbit as they did so.

"I cant believe you three." Weiss said after she had her own turn to pet the bunny, turning to the guys who had still made no effort to retreat from their cover. "Scared of a rabbit? I thought you were supposed to be 'the fearsome warriors of Azeroth'."

"That thing is the harbinger of death and destruction!" Wrath courted, peering ver so slightly from behind his ice covered rock, glaring daggers at the heiress as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Pfft, sure, okay." Weiss muttered before returning to the rest of her team, taking charge of stroking the rabbits head.

"Do you think it has a name?" Even Blake was petting the rabbit, running her nails along the length of it's back, keeping her usual calm demeanor present in the calm smile that she wore, though the judging by illuminating sparkle in her eyes she was just as infatuated with the tiny creature as the others.

"Of course it doesn't! No one lives long enough to give it one!" Varimas hissed, attempting to unsuccessfully summon up a portal. Whoever said Fel magic was better in every way was certainly not correct in every respect.

"Well then in that case..." Ruby began lifting the rabbit up above her head, beaming brightly at it as it's nose wriggled. "I think I'll name you... Fluffy!"

"Hold on!" Weiss called out suddenly, causing Ruby to glance at her teammate in confusion. Upon receiving no response for her sudden outburst, Weiss continued. "Why do you get to name him? You and Yang already have Zwei!"

"So?" Ruby loudly whined in her signature childlike manner, eliciting a small smile from Anduin despite the apparently dire situation unfolding before them all. "It was a family decision, that doesn't count!"

"Yes it does! Winter always got to name our family pets!" Weiss hissed in response, propping her hands on her hips.

"Pssh, not my problem." Ruby muttered with a deadpan tone in her voice, her silver eyes and general demeanor matching her statement.

"Come on Ruby! Let me name him!"

"Never! His name is Fluffy! End of story!" Ruby exclaimed, tightening her grip on the rabbit, pressing it closely against her body, which she turned away from Weiss' general direction.

"Give me the rabbit Ruby!"

"No! Get your own!"

Unfortunately for the members of team RWBY at that very moment, through the incesant arguing between the reaper and the heiress, Ruby made one fatal mistake that would no doubt doom them all.

She had tightened her grip on the bunny just a hair too much.

* * *

"So... Any life lessons learned here people?" Wrath asked with his arms crossed against his chest as he stood over multiple hospital beds, all of which were occupied by the different members each doing their own thing.

Ruby was quietly conversing with Anduin, who had taken a seat at the side of her bed. Half her torso, which was covered by a standard light blue hospital gown, was completely coverage in a thick layer of bandage, along with her hip and neck. However that ever present smile was not banished, even now.

Weiss, also garbed in a standard light blue hospital gown, was quietly clutching her head, biting her lip every time a pulse of pain shot through her skull, which was heavily bandaged, along with both her legs. She had been told that she had been lucky to even get out of that cave with both of her legs intact. She completely believed such a statement.

Even Blake was bedridden, though she had thankfully been saved from the others fate of being forced to wear a hospital gown. Instead she wore her personal black dressing gown, which Wrath had brought to her, along with the book set she had her eyes on back at the Faire. Turned out the general store had been selling the exact same set that the Darkmoon Faire was offering for prizes for only a few gold.

Yang was the best off of all of team RWBY. she had only different superficial injures that consisted of mostly light cuts that littered her entire body, most of which did not even require bandages. She had been just out of range of the Darkmoon rabbit's attack when it had first been unleashed, thankfully.

"Yeah, never go to carnivals on Azeroth." Weiss muttered after an uncomfortable silence had passed over the group. Obviously no one else would be answering Wrath, seriously or sarcastically, so she might as well, if only to humor the Death Knight who stood over them like a mother looking down upon disobedient children.

"Any 'other' lessons?"

"Ooh, ooh, I got one!" Ruby exclaimed proudly as her hand shot into the air, only for it to fall a moment later accompanied by a wince of pain. The muscle was still as twisted as the moment she awoke. "Don't listen to advice from 3 foot tall monsters?"

"How about 'Listen to Wrath when he tells you not to do something'?" Wrath offered sarcastically, only to receive a blank stare from Ruby in response, who soon gave the blood elf a humored smile.

"...Nah!"

"Well anyway... I have a surprise for you all." Wrath began, shuffling over to the closet that stood near the entrance of the room, with every set of eyes in the room, Blake included, followed him every step of the way. "The staff at the Faire felt bad about what happened and they wanted to give you a... Compensation prize of sorts."

"Ooh, really?" Yang asked, a bright smile gracing her face.

"Was it more of that cotton candy that the short guy who talked funny was selling?!" Ruby asked excitedly, nearly knocking Anduin off the bed as her uninjured arm shot out towards Wrath.

"You mean the dwarf?" Anduin asked, narrowly avoiding Ruby's swing.

"Oh! Is that what he was?"

"Nope! It's-..." Wrath trailed off as he proudly held up a small cardboard box, which held a small white furred rabbit that poked it's head out the the small opening which it was provided for breathing. "A bunny!"

All of the girls immediately began shrieking and screaming, all either diving under their beds, or in Ruby's case behind Anduin, except of course for Yang who merely strolled over and leaned down, only stopping when her face was inches from the bunny's nose.

Wrath laughed before withdrawing the bunny from the small cardboard box, before handing the creature over to Yang, who soon began to pet the bunny happily.

"Yang what the heck are you doing?!" Weiss demanded from under her bed. "Chuck that thing out the window!"

"Why would I do that?" Yang asked, glanced over at the heiress, who was visibly shaking from under her bed.

"Because we-... I-... You-..." Weiss' voice began to crack as her nerves began to get the better of her. "Because rabbits are insane! They're evil to the core! Wrath was right! They are the harbingers of death and destruction!"

"You can all scream however much you want." Yang began, running her hand along the soft fur of the rabbit, watching with a wide smile as it's nose twitched, much as the Beast of Darkmoon's had. "But you have to admit... That rabbit was dynamite!"


	10. Chapter 10: Justice

**Hey peoples! Just a quick little oneshot for you all! This was not meant to be a long or major chapter, just a little interaction between Wrath and Vengeance! Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!**

* * *

Justice

* * *

In the peaceful darkness of Silvermoon city, behind the grand spires of the palace and the shining streets of the districts which it overlooked was a small stable, contracted of a dull shaded wood and plaster, a stark contrast to the rest of the golden city. And someone was slowly prying the entrance to the stables open.

Inside of the barn a crimson armored horse stood, stoic and silent, watching as the door to the stables creaked open, revealing a blue eyed blood elf, who quickly slipped inside of the stables, locking the door behind him before turning to the horse, strolling over to the pen which held it.

"Hey Vengeance. How're you holding up?" Wrath asked as he unlocked the gate which held his horse in it's pen, prompting the charger to plod out of the pen at her own pace. Wrath learned long ago that Vengeance was more than capable of taking care of herself, she did not need to be led around by the reins.

It always surprised others, the trust that beast and rider had. In truth Wrath really only kept reins on Vengeance for appearances sake. She always seemed to know exactly what Wrath wanted, where he wished to go. It was not dark sorcery or some sort of magic that formed the bond between them. It was merely there; no outside force culminated it. It was merely undying trust between rider and horse.

Wrath soon found himself a seat in form of a stack of hay bales, settling cross-legged on the top bale, while Vengeance made her own way over, standing next to the hay bales unmoving. However Wrath could easily see that while his steed's muscles may have been dormant, her eyes were not. Beneath the otherworldly glow that coated them, he could see Vengeance's eyes wandering around the room. "I know, it's weird isn't it? Back in Silvermoon after so long..."

Vengeance gave a small huff in response, a nearly visible gust of air shooting from her nostrils like a jet stream, causing surface of hay she was facing to suddenly become adorned with a thin sprinkling of light frost that melted away only seconds later.

"Oh yeah, I snuck you something from the food stores." Wrath suddenly said, catching the attention of his steed in but a moment, evident by her sudden attention towards the sack in her rider's grip. Watching silently as he reached into the bag, the horse was silently trilled when the blood elf held up a singular red apple that seemed to shine, even in the dimly lit atmosphere of the stables. "Your favorite!"

Wrath then held the bag out towards his steed, giving a small smile when Vengeance immediately stuck her head into the bag. The crunching of apples followed soon after.

"Seems like you're reintegrating yourself rather quickly. Missing the royal stables of Stormwind I suppose?" Wrath asked, prompting Vengeance to raise her crimson armor plated head from the sack, staring at her master with her ever glowing eyes. "What?"

A moment later Vengeance ran her rough tongue along the length of Wrath's face.

"Alright alright! Finish your dinner!" Wrath laughed, pushing the horse's snout back towards the sack. She obeyed, once again tearing into the apple stash mercilessly, all while Wrath watched, fascinated that one animal could possibly love the fruit to such a degree.

"Tell me something..." The Death Knight said after a few long yet comfortable silence between the two. Arching one knee up at an angle and propping his arm against it, he continued, gazing out of a small hole in the barn roof at the starkly night above. "Do you sometimes think that what we're doing is right?"

At the question Vengeance glanced up from her meal once more in order to stare at her rider.

"You know... That whole 'Fight for what's right' thing. I mean since we left the Scourge I've always done whatever was in my power to help-..." Wrath trailed off as his eyes trailed back down from the sky. He knew exactly what he was trying to verbally dance around. There was no use in hiding it. "...To act like Paladin I should've been while I had the chance..."

Wrath let out a sigh, gazing with evident disgust in his eyes at his gauntlet covered hand, which was clenched into a tight fist.

"But... I'm a Death Knight; should I even bother trying to act like that? Am I even suited for caring for others in such a way?" Wrath asked the question more to himself than his steed, and both knew this. Never the less it brought the knight some comfort to ask another being, even if it was just his horse. "Or was it ripped out of me by Frostmourne?"

Vengeance whinnied, stomping her feet against the dusty and dry ground of the stables, prompting Wrath to gaze over at the horse.

"Yeah, guess you don't really think about it either way huh?" Wrath chuckled, laying his hand upon Vengeance's snout, who locked eyes with the blood elf as he spoke. At this Wrath let a smile cross his face, if only a small one. "...Or maybe you just might..."

Vengeance huffed at her masters words, her eyes sparkling with the slightest hint of annoyance at the man who sat upon those large bales of hay, and said man could easily see this. "Yeah, I know. I doubt myself too much, you don't have to say it. I've been hearing it quite a lot recently."

Wrath drifted off into silence for a few minutes, savoring the calm serenity of his surroundings with his eyes clamped shut. Focusing on each breath he took, he let himself hear even the faintest of sounds that played around him.

The quiet buzzing of a hundred insects. The hushed conversations of citizens still out, despite the late hour. Even the constant soft hum of the magical energies of the constructs that patrolled the streets, constantly spouting their ridiculous propaganda.

"So I have to wonder Vengeance..." Wrath began, prying one eye open to find tht his loyal steed had not moved even an inch since he had shut his eyes. She was still standing tall, proud, and most importantly, by his side. As she always had. Even after all they had been through, both in light and darkness, rider and steed still stood strong. "What do you think of Blake?"

Vengeance nudged Wrath's arm gently with her snout, eliciting soft chuckles from the Death Knight as he lay his hand on her snout, gently stroking it. More a comforting gesture than anything, as the armor which protected Vengeance's face completely negated any sort of pleasurable fleeing the beast would have received otherwise.

"Good to know. I think she likes you too." Wrath said, continuing to gently run his hand along the length of the horse's armor covered head for a few minutes, letting the silence overtake them both once more.

After what seemed like hours of peaceful tranquility between beast and man, Wrath pulled himself to his feet, hopping off of the stack of hay bales gracefully,

"I should get going. I'll leave the rest of the apples over here okay?" Wrath said, laying the remaining down next to Vengeance, where he had been sitting before, knowing she could find her own way back into her pen. With that he made his way over to the entrance to the stables, unlocking the door and prying it open.

However just before he stepped out of the stables, Wrath stopped in his tracks, though he did not turn back to face his steed. She did not need to see his face however; she could sense the soft smile which no doubt graced his features.

"Goodnight... Justice..."


	11. Chapter 11: There For You

**Hey there! So I feel like setting fire to the rumor mill tonight! So here's a special little friendship based oneshot! I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 _There For You_

* * *

Deep in the foreboding darkness of the Ghostlands, in the midst the eerie glow of the trees and the occasional pained moan from one of the many undead who roamed through the forests, a small caravan traveled, flanked on every side by elven rangers.

Leading the small band of rangers was a female elf, garbed not in the armor of a ranger, but in the traditional robes of a Silvermoon priestess. She rode her hawkstrider with clear poise and grace. There was no doubt that whomever she was, this woman was of important status.

An uneasy peace hung in the air surrounding the caravan. The rangers who surrounded the caravan were constantly glancing about at their surroundings, most of them with an arrow nocked on their bowstring, ready to fire at a moments notice.

Suddenly, the relative peace that the caravan had been graced with was suddenly shattered. Before even a single elf could raise their bow in their own defense, surges of yelling green and blue forms burst out of the trees, surrounding the caravan in a matter of moments.

" _Trolls!_ Open fi-..." The ranger was silenced as a primitive stone throwing axe found itself buried between his shoulder blades, throwing him to the ground, dead before he even hit the dirt.

Chaos soon dominated the small band of elves which surrounded the caravan. While a few arrows found their mark in the skin of the troll warriors, most bounced harmlessly off either their wooden shields or seemingly did no real damage to the hide armor they wore, despite the primitive nature of the material.

The priestess turned every which way on top of her mount, chanting a string of words while firing off spell after spell in an attempt to keep her comrades alive. Despite her help however, the rangers were soon overwhelmed by the sea of trolls.

As the priestess watched as the last of her comrades were cut down, a roar suddenly ripped through the sea of green and blue. Her eyes soon settled on a blue with massive axe that was currently cleaving a ranger in half, ripping through the armor of the archer as if it were only cloth.

The troll's eyes were set upon the priestess before the two halves of the slain ranger had even settled on the ground.

Without so much as a warning, the priestess suddenly found herself thrown off of her mount and onto her back. Before she could recover from the the shock of the impact against the ground the priestess felt a searing pain that radiated up her arm.

When she reached to clench at the limb she found only a fleshy stump, blood pouring from the amputated wound like a crimson waterfall.

The priestess soon felt the same intense pain run down her legs. When, with titanic effort, the priestess lifted her head to look down at the lower half of her body, she was horrified to see her legs being punted away from the rest of her body by one of the dozens of trolls that now surrounded her.

She struggled for each and every breath. Her vision was flooded in red. She could barely summon the strength to keep her eyes open to watch as the silhouetted form of the troll warrior stood above her.

"...I'm... So sorry... Varimas..."

The troll's axe fell upon her neck.

* * *

It was a sunny day in the majestic streets of Silvermoon city. Every street corner was bustling with vendors selling their wares to the throngs of adventurers that wandered through the winding streets. In one of those many wandering streets a priest stood before the front of entrance of a rather opulent residence.

Nervously he stood there with his hands clenched at his sides, staring at the masked figure of another elf, who stood as a mirror to the priest. He had even dreading this moment the entire day.

"Lord Varimas Sunsorrow. Greetings." The priest greeted with a small bow, though Varimas seemed to not be as eager to show such respect back, if his crossed arms were any real indication.

" _Look_ , I don't care how many times you come around, my answer is still the same." Varimas muttered in an exasperated manner, each and every word dripping with sarcasm. "I'm not ' _donating_ ' any money. I'm done coddling both my mother and the priesthood so-..."

"No... No Varimas... That's not why I'm here." The priest interrupted, holding his hands up in front of his chest.

Varimas leaned against the frame of the doorway casually, his arms still crossed lazily across his purple and grey robe. "Oh? Then are you just knocking on random doors for the fun of it or-..."

"Varimas... Your mother..." The priest trailed off. Varimas felt a jab in his stomach. "Priestess Sunsorrow and the caravan that she and several rangers were escorting was found destroyed by what we can only presume was some form of Amani ambush... There were no survivors..."

It took a few seconds for the Warlock to recompose himself. "...Carhun if this is your idea of a joke it's _not_ funny."

"I truly wish that it was..." The priest, evidently named Carhun muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose, his ginger hair falling over his fel-green eyes. Discussing Varimas' parents with said blood elf was never an easy task. "She was one of the best our order has seen in years..."

Varimas gave no response to the priest's praise, merely staring as the man became increasingly uncomfortable under the gaze of the warlock.

"...The funeral is set for this weekend..." The priest said before giving another soft bow. "I will take my leave... I hope to see you there _'Lord'_ Sunsorrow... For your mothers sake..."

Varimas nodded only once, backing back into his house, before shutting the door muttering three final words to the elven priest. "...Good day Carhun..."

Varimas let out a sigh once the door was shut, leaning against the wooden frame for a few moments before turning around to walk back to where he had left his friends, only to come face to face with Wrath, who had no doubt followed him. "Hey Var, who was-..."

Wrath trailed off when he took notice of Varimas' slumped shoulders. It was unlike the Warlock. He always made some sort of effort to keep himself at least partially presentable, even in the worst of circumstances.

"Varimas?... What's going on?" Wrath began, the caution clear in voice as he drew closer to his friend.

"Apparently-..." Varimas froze for a moment, a shiver running down his spine as he repeated the words he had been told only moments before, not having entirely absorbed the information quite yet. "Apparently my mother died in an Amani ambush a few days ago..."

"...You going to be alright?" The Death Knight asked, laying his hand on Varimas' shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I... Y-... _Yeah..."_ Varimas stuttered shrugging Wrath's hand off of his shoulder roughly, causing the black haired elf to back away for a moment befre decomposing himself, attempting to reach for his friend once more.

"Look, if you need to talk about-..." His hand was batted away by Varimas once more. This time he made no move to replace his hand on the shoulder of his friend, instead opting to mirror his crossed arms.

"There's nothing to talk about." He replied, the venom in his words clear. When Wrath said nothing in response Varimas began to head towards his sleeping quarters, only to stop when Wrath finally did speak up.

"Vari-..."

"I said there's nothing to talk about!" Varimas yelled with clenched fists, thick tendrils of fel-fire flaring up around him, nearly catching the surrounding tapestries on fire.

Wrath held his hands up defensively, backing away from the agitated Warlock, not wanting to risk flame based facial reconstruction surgery. "Alright. I'll leave you be. I'm backing up."

With that Varimas turned down the hall, disappearing into his sleeping quarters only a few moments later.

After nearly a full minute after Varimas had disappeared Blake and Yang, both of whom had been hiding behind one of the many doorways that connected the main entrance to the rest of the house, emerged from their hiding place with worried looks on their faces.

"What's going on Wrath?" Blake asked, walking right over to the Death Knight without even a hint of hesitation, laying her hand against the dark purple armor that covered his arm, the metal cool to the touch despite the relatively warm weather of Eversong.

"...Apparently Varimas' mother was just recently killed..." Wrath explained with a soft sigh, laying his own hand on top of Blake's, staring at the now closed door that led to Varimas' quarters. "It would be best to leave him be with his thoughts for a time... We needs to come to terms with this in his way."

"Wait... So you're just going to leave him _alone_?!" Yang asked throwing one of her arms up in the air as she leaned on a table with the other, completely baffled by what she was hearing.

"As I'm sure you saw, Varimas made it perfectly clear that he wants his space. I'm merely respecting his wishes." Wrath replied calmly, though his face was etched in clear worry for the emotional state of his friend.

"Yeah well he's your friend isn't he?" Yang asked, propping one hand on her hip while the other pointed at Wrath accusingly. "Sometimes ya gotta step on ' _wishes_ ' if it mean helping them!"

Wrath remained as silent as his friend had been, slumping his shoulders. He knew that Yang was right in a way, yet he made no move towards the door even when Yang began to growl softly at him.

"Fine. If you won't go talk to him-..." Yang began as she strolled in the direction of Varimas' sleeping quarters. "...-Then I _will."_

"That's not a good idea Yang." Blake spoke up, stepping in front of the brawler before she could advance any further down the long corridor, a sympathetic expression on her features. "Your only just walking... If he hurts you-..."

"I'm going in there. End of story."

With that Yang brushed by Blake and headed towards Varimas' room once more, leaving Wrath and Blake in the entrance room, glancing at each other in worry.

* * *

"Hey, Varimas? Are you in-... _Woah..."_ Yang trailed off as she took in the view before her. Varimas' room was completely destroyed. Scorch marks littered the walls, furniture lay in splintered pieces on the ground. Even the carpet bore slash marks from some sort of bladed weapon. "Dang... Spring cleaning much?"

No response came to deflect her quip. Nothing more than the shuffling of cloth from the other side of the room. This worried Yang leagues more than any sort of insult or snarky response.

Yang frowned, glancing around at the destroyed room, scanning for any trace of her friend. Not an easy task considering how all of the curtains were pulled shut, exiling the sunlight, leaving Yang only with the dim light of the candles which lined the room to help her search. "Varimas?... You in here buddy?"

A moment later she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Near the bed, something was moving around. Turning to face it she put on the best fake smile she possibly could before walking over to the bed.

"Varim-..." That smile vanished in an instant. Varimas was indeed standing there, however when he turned around to face Yang, the blonde girl gasped in surprise, her hands partially covering her mouth. "Wh-what the hell?!"

Varimas was holding his mask in his hand.

"Yeah... Get a good look..." Varimas growled, his teeth bared, glaring daggers at Yang, who unconsciously backed away from the elf, who the brawler could now see was just as blonde as she was. "Get a _damn good look_..."

"What happened to you?..." Yang asked after regaining her composure, shuffling towards the elf with her hand stretched out towards his face, which was partially covered by the shadow of the candlelight which kept the room lit.

"Does it matter?" Varimas asked, dodging Yang's hand before sitting on his ruined bed, glaring daggers at the felfume mask which lay ominously in his hands, as if silently beckoning him to don it.

"Yeah! A little!" Yang cried, ripping Varimas from his self induced trance, forcing the elf to glance over at Yang for but a mount before his gaze returned to the mask held in his hands.

Varimas pressed his mask against his face, locking the metal plate in place before tilting his head out of the shadows his gaze directed upon Yang once more. "...Why are you here?"

"I came to talk to you..." Yang began, placing her hands on her hips as a look of concern crossed her face as she returned the gaze she was receiving from Varimas. "I, _Uh_... I heard what happened..."

"You mean my mother?" Varimas simply asked, not wishing to mince words. He knew Yang was not one for such things either. He could be honest with her, he could speak to her on any subject and he knew she would be honest with him in return.

Yang gave a small nod at this, leaning against the wall with her arms still placed firmly against her hips. "So I mean... Do you want to talk?"

"No. I'm fine." Or maybe anything was too generous of a word.

"Well what's left of your room begs to differ." Yang replied, her eyes once again scanning the destroyed bedroom as well as they possibly could in the dim candlelight.

"Yang. She and my father abandoned me. Disowned me." Varimas spat, clenching his fists in his lap in an attempt to convey himself calmly. "Believe me, I'm content with her passing. _More_ than content."

"No you aren't." Despite disagreeing with the Warlock, Yang could not resist the smile that crept onto her face. At least she was beginning to get through to the stubborn elf.

"And what gives you the right to make such a judgment?..." Varimas snapped his gaze in Yang's direction, though the brawler did not so much as flinch at the sudden movement.

"I know what I'm talking about, that's what _'gives me a right'_..." Yang replied, doing her best to suppress the sarcasm that dripped off the last few words that flood past her lips, though she was ultimately unsuccessful.

"You don't know what its like to have parents who abandoned you." Th warlock muttered, suddenly becoming very interested in his hands, which lay unmoving on his lap.

"My mother..." Yang began with a sigh, sitting on the bed next to Varimas, who seemed to show no visible reaction to the sudden close proximity of his friend. "Her name's Raven... She left when I was only a kid... She only reappeared during a festival we had a year ago..."

"Raven huh?... What makes you think I give-..." Varimas trailed off when he finally did look up, suddenly finding himself without the mental drive to complete his verbal jab. "...What's your point?..."

"My point is, is that I know what it's like..." Yang said, leaning back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Even it had a few scorch marks littering it's surface. That was not her chief concern at the moment though. "I know how it feels to have a mother who wasn't always there for you..."

"She was _Never_ there for me! No one expect Wrath ever was." Varimas replied. "At least you have your father..."

Yang pulled herself back up to a sitting position. "Well yeah but-..."

"Wrath! That's _it_! No one else has ever been there for me! _No one!_ " Varimas interrupted, small sparks of Fel-fire beginning to dance across the surface of his gloved hands.

"That's not true..." Yang whispered, watching the green sparks that flew from Varimas' hands with wary eyes. She knew first hand just how painful that fire could be if it ended up making contact ones skin. That was an experience she would rather not go through again if she could help it.

"What're you talking about?" Varimas pressed, the sparks growing into small flames that traveled to the tips of his fingers, resembling demonic candles. It would have been an almost humorous sight in any other situation.

"I'm here for you..." Those four words seemed to make the entire room freeze. All at once the fires that had been building in Varimas' hands were snuffed out as if not a spark had ever flown. The crackling of demonic fire replaced by only the breathing of both warlock and brawler.

"...What?"

"A-and I'm sure Blake is too!" Yang suddenly cried about with a nervous smile, shaking her hands in front of her face when she finally realized just what she had said. "You're our friend after all!"

"Right..." Varimas chuckled, watching as Yang bolted off of the bed, standing at attention, her arms pinned to her sides. It was hard to imagine that only a few weeks prior there was a possibility she would never walk again. "I... Think I'm alright now..."

Yang seemed to visibly relax rather quickly at those words, giving the warlock a small yet warm smile. "Good."

"I'll be out in a few minutes..." Varimas said, before taking a good long glance at his room, wincing silently when he realized just how thoroughly he had damaged the place in his tantrum. "Just give me a few minutes to clean this place up."

"You got it bud!..." Yang said with a bright smile and a thumbs up, though Varimas did not see this due to his back being turned on the brawler. This caused her to pause for just a moment.

Then, seemingly in a trance, Yang began to walk towards Varimas but hesitated once Varimas turned around to face her causing her to shuffle backwards back towards the doorway. Varimas of course noticed, tilting his head as he watched the sudden shift of Yang's mood take place. "Everything okay?"

"Uh, _yeah!_ Yeah, everything's fine!" Yang laughed nervously before she rushed the rest of the way to the doorway, ripping the door open wildly. "I should get outta here!"

However just before she flew out of the room, she halted in the doorway, and with a bowed head muttered something so quietly Varimas had to strain to hear it, though they were words that he would not soon forget.

"...You know... I think you look better _without_ the mask..."

With that Yang scampered out of the room to rejoin Blake and Wrath, leaving Varimas alone in his room, with a small smile gracing his face hidden under his felfume mask.

"...Thank you... Yang..."

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed! Next one-shot should be out soon enough! Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12: Jealousy

**Alright! Here's a quick little oneshot I thought up today. Just a note, this chapter takes place between chapters 4 and 5 of Broken Wings! Okay? Okay! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Jealousy**

* * *

"...So you think you can do it?"

"Oh honey, this'll be easier than taking candy from a baby."

* * *

Blake was not a jealous person. She was an introvert, that was an uncontested point. Some would even consider her to be stuck up on certain subjects. Even her closest friends could attest to having trouble in holding any sort of sustained conversation with the feline faunus, and so jealously tended to be something seldom displayed. She was almost always cool, calm, and collected.

But seeing Wrath and Coco train together? Well let's just say that persona was quickly losing it's reputation.

It seemed like a good, and at the time innocent, idea to get Wrath more acquainted with the other students of Beacon, but this sort of acquaintance was the last thing she had in mind.

And so here she was, watching as her otherworldly friend and one of the best fighters in Beacon Academy spoke to each other from across the sparring arena, obviously enjoying themselves a little too much.

"Alright pretty boy. You beat up on Winchester pretty easily, but let's see how you do against a real opponent." Coco taunted as she readied her massive suitcase gun, peering over her sunglasses with a sly smirk.

"Ladies first." Wrath replied cooly as he drew his rune blade, shooting the smirk he had been given right back, performing a small blade flurry in an obvious attempt to show off to the chocolate haired young woman.

"Hmm, a gentleman eh?" Coco purred sensually, giving Wrath an innocent smile that transformed into the face of pure concentration, never breaking her gaze from the Death Knight who stood at the ready before her. "Let's see how long that lasts once I beat you."

"I can last longer than you think." Wrath commented, never letting his guard down, though the same could not be said for his opponent, who's eyes widened considerably behind her sunglasses.

It only took her a few seconds to recover however. With a chuckle she muttered, "I'll keep that in mind."

Blake was not sure who she exactly wanted to strangle more right now.

* * *

It was nearly a full hour later when the two finally called their sparring match quits. In that time more than a few flirtatious comments had flown back and forth between the fashionista and elven Death Knight.

Halfway through the sparring match Yang had even found her way over to their particular training arena. She was quick to suggest that the group grab coffee once Coco and Wrath were done with their sparring match, an offer both combatants were quick to take the blonde brawler up on.

And that was what brought the group to where they were, all sitting at a table in the campus coffee shop talking about this and that while Blake sat at the far end of the table nursing a cup of tea with a book pressed against her nose, resembling some sort of rookie spy out on her first mission.

"Well, I gotta say, you're not a pushover Wrath." Coco complimented as she idly stirred her coffee, while leaning on her other arm, staring intently at Wrath with a smile, all while the elf in question obliviously smiled back. "Haven't had a fight that good in a while."

"You aren't bad yourself-... Uh..." Wrath suddenly fell silent when he finally realized something rather important. Scratching the back of his head, he gave Coco a nervous chuckle. "I don't exactly know your name miss-..."

"Oh, my name?" The style-centered brunette began, scooting her chair ever closer to Wrath, all while Blake followed her ever move with viper eyes. "It's Coco Adel but..."

Blake bit down hard on her book, glaring daggers at the older girl. _'Don't do it. Don't you dare do it...'_

" _You_ can just call me Coco."

She did it.

"Coco hmm? That's a pretty interesting name." Wrath hummed, before taking a small sip from his own black coffee, silently wondering to himself why anyone preferred such a drink mixed with strange flavored milk. "How'd your parents come up with it?"

"Oh well it's a long story, but essentially it boils down to many of us being named after colors. I can't exactly remember the details, but I know it started after a war that ended around 80 years ago named the great war." Coco explained, waving her hand around, seemingly uninterested in what she was saying, instead Self expression or something. So for instance I was named after-..."

"I'm named after black." Blake suddenly interrupted, before realizing exactly what she had said, which resulted in her ducking behind her mug of tea, her cheeks visibly tinted a hot pink.

Yang ended up having to bite down on her lip keeping herself from bursting out in laughter.

"Uh yeah. She's named after the color black." Coco muttered, peering over her sunglasses at the blushing faunus, who seemed to shrink further behind her tea mug, seemingly trying to vanish being the porcelain container.

Wrath, unfortunately for Blake, was not nearly as subtle in his observance of her strange behavior. Tilting his head in curiosity he asked, "Um... Are you alright Blake? You're acting... Strange."

Blake was up in a second, accidentally knocking her book off of the table in the midst of her rapid assent. "Uh, I'll be right back!"

Yang couldn't hold it in anymore, she began guffawing like a hyena while Blake made what could almost be described as a dash for the table where sugar and coffee stirrers were kept ducking behind it, all while Coco smirked victoriously and Wrath stared at the retreat form of the faunus in bewilderment.

After the group finally broke their attention for Blake finally peered around the corner, resuming her glare session at Wrath and Coco while she silently began to pour milk into her mug of tea in a constant yet thin stream.

Yang was not nearly as preoccupied as Wrath or Coco however, and soon found herself strolling over to where Blake was standing.

"Hey kitty-... Woah." Yang gasped, causing Blake to look down to see that she had failed to notice that she was still pouring milk into her cup, which resulted in the milky coffee running over the lip of the mug, creating a small puddle on the counter that grew in size with each passing second. "Well I guess I don't need to ask whether or not you're okay."

"What're you talking about?" Blake, the blush on her face resurfacing, muttered as she snatched a handful of napkins from the table, soaking up her spilt drink. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Oh really?" Yang chuckled, leaning against the table, swirling her own cup of coffee in her hand, creating a small whirlpool out of her drink. "You wanna know what I think?"

"What?" Blake asked, picking her mug up from the table, taking a small sip from her milky coffee. Or rather her coffee flavored milk.

"I think you're _jealous."_

Several patrons in the coffee shop jumped as Blake's mug shattered against the tile of the floor, spraying shards of china and coffee in every which direction. Even Wrath and Coco glanced over to see what had transpired behind the table.

"Jealous? How could I be jealous? What do I have to be jealous about? I'm _not_ jealous!" Blake reasoned as she glared at Yang, attempting to keep her usual emotionally void tone in her voice present, though by the faces that watched her from every angle it was more than obvious she was failing.

"Man, I've never seen Blake act this way." Wrath muttered, glancing over at Coco, who seemed to be enjoying the situation just a little bit too much judging by the satisfied smirk that rested upon her face. "Any idea what's causing this?"

"Oh... I may have a theory or two." Wrath suddenly felt the warmth of another persons hand running atop his own, and when he glanced down, saw none other than Coco's hand laid on his own.

And that was the last thing he saw before he looked up and saw what he would later describe as 'darkness incarnate' stalking towards the two of them.

Wrath heard a low whistle from beside him. "I would _run_ if I were you pretty boy..."

Yes, Blake was certainly an introvert. A calm and collected individual who could always be counted on to keep a cool head even in the most chaotic of situations. However a lesson was learned by Blake that day. An important lesson that no one in that cafe would soon forget.

Even she was not immune to the beast inside so many call jealousy.

* * *

"Hope you enjoyed the show." Coco, who was leaning against the wall of her dorm hallway, said as a hooded figure strolled over to her.

"You know it. Here's your lien." The figure replied, forking over a small stack of cash to the brunette, who eagerly plucked it from the hooded figure's outstretched palm, counting it quickly.

"Nice." She said after she verified that all of her money was present. After a few seconds of consideration Coco turned back to the hooded figure with a calm smirk etched on her face. "You better go make sure your buddy is still alive. Blake looked pretty miffed when she dragged his ass outta the cafe."

"Eh, kitty-cat won't kill him." The hooded figure laughed. "Just chew him up a little."

"Good." Coco laughed, before opening her dorm door and stepping inside. "Night."

"Night Coco." The hooded figure happily replied before turning on their heel in order to make their way to their own dorm room, eager to see if Wrath had indeed survived Blake's vengeance.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13: My Prince of Lions

**Alright! Here's a not-so-small oneshot that finally centers around a pairing I've been kind of neglecting up to this point. A reviewer on Broken Wings described this pairing as the 'Holy Rose' pairing and you know what? That works. I'm gonna go with that! So hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _My Prince of Lions_

* * *

It was official. Ruby hated being wheelchair bound even more than she hated professor Oobleck's surprise reports. And that was truly saying something. It had been a week or so since she had first awakened in this strange new land bursting full of possibilities for adventure and excitement, and she could not experience even the tiniest bit of it!

All she could do was stare longingly out at the deep orange of the evening sky, watching the townspeople of the city of Stormwind milling about below her, going about their daily lives. It was quiet. It was serene. It was so freaking boring!

These were her silent complaints as she pulled her cloak around her body like a blanket. She could not wear it like she normally did due to her inability to stand to put it on, and so it served as a makeshift blanket until she could walk again.

Of course that was easier said than done. The Prince of the castle had been more than helpful, and her leg was to the point that she could move it around once more. It still hurt like hell half the time, and it would flare up whenever she was stupid enough to start poking at the bits of hardened skin on her thigh that had not completely healed yet.

Still, she was thankful. At the rate the daily healing sessions were healing the leg, she would be able to walk within the week. What probably also helped matters was that the prince was an easy one to hold a conversation with, which alleviated a bit of the boredom of having your leg pumped with magical energies for 15 minutes every day.

Suddenly, as if by fate, a knock on the door tore the young reaper from her thoughts. Wheeling over and she opens it to reveal Anduin, flanked by a heavily armed guard who looked almost eerily similar to Yatsuhashi.

"Oh hey Anduin, er-... Prince Anduin!" Ruby happily called out with a smile, though part of her was a bit nervous. Anduin was nice enough, a great person to talk to, but for some reason she could not explain, whenever she saw him a strange feeling began to brew in the pit of her stomach. Kind of like she was hungry. Maybe that was it.

"Good evening. How do you feel Lady Xiao Long?" Anduin calmly asked with a small bow of courtesy, seemingly oblivious as to his guest's current inner turmoil. Maybe Ruby was just better at concealing her nervous state than she had previously thought.

"Lady Xiao Long?" She asked, a humored grin appearing on her face as she leaned back in her wheelchair, which was crudely constructed out of wood and fabric. Certainly not the most advanced or luxurious wheelchair that she had ever seen, but it certainly beat having to crawl on her face everywhere she went.

"It's a formality. You are a guest after a-..."

"No no! I mean my last name isn't the same as my sisters!" Ruby giggled at the surprised look she received from the prince at her statement, before giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's a long story."

Anduin visibly relaxed at that, thankful that he had not accidentally gone and offended the young woman who sat before him, who still wore a wide smile on her face. "Oh, then may I ask your last name miss?-..."

"Rose. Ruby Rose." Ruby exclaimed, making a poor attempt to imitate the voice of her favorite movie spy 'James Rond'. When her impression failed spectacularly though her face turned a light shade of pink before she gave a bashful shrug. "Just... Call me Ruby though. Please."

"Very well, but only on the condition that you call me Anduin." The blonde haired young man replied, earning a look of confusion from Ruby, who's head was tiled to the side. "Prince gets old after a while. And I'd rather not hear my friends call me that regardless."

Ruby had to smile at that comment. "Alright. So what's up?"

"Well, I know it's been a few days now, and I'm sure you've seen my father in the main throne room or the gardens" Anduin began, and when he received a nod of confirmation from Ruby he continued. "Well... He said that he would like to meet you formally tonight."

Ruby gasped loudly, clapped her hands together excitedly, and began to bounce around in her wheelchair.

"I get to meet a real king?! Oh this is awesome!" Ruby exclaimed pumping her fist into the air before bringing it back to her mouth to disguise the snicker she let pass her lips. "Weiss is gonna be so freakin' jealous when I tell her!"

"Weiss? I was under the impression your sisters name was Yang." Anduin asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Or at least that's what I thought I heard Wrath say anyway."

"Oh it is! Weiss is my partner at Beacon!" The reaper replied giving another lighthearted giggle. Anduin seemed to feel his lips curving into a smile on their own upon hearing Ruby's almost hypnotizing laughter. "She can kinda be a butt sometimes but she's usually pretty cool!"

"I see. Well, shall we go see my father now? I'm sure he's quite hungry." Anduin said, jabbing his thumb back in the direction he had no doubt come from, though Ruby appeared perplexed by his request.

"Hungry?"

"Yes, we'll be eating dinner with him privately." The Prince replied, leaning against the wooden doorframe casually, though somehow he still retained his air of dignity. Probably the years of training. "Usually he would eat later than the rest of us, but he is taking a small vacation of sorts from diplomacy for a week or so."

"Is it really that hard of a job?" Ruby asked, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "Just seems like a lot of talking to me."

"I wish it were so easy miss Rose-... _Ruby_." Anduin corrected himself quickly. He was not entirely used to addressing people on a first name basis lately either.

Ever since his adventure in Pandaria the only person who he was on a first name basis besides his father was Wrath, and so his ability to hold a casual conversation had diminished somewhat, replaced by the rigid and rehearsed dialogue of a diplomat. Yet with Ruby around, he could not help but to notice how that ability was slowly returning.

"Oh." Ruby said in a deadpan, breaking Anduin out of his trance. She seemed somber for only but a moment before her cheery mood returned along with the usual bright smile which accompanied it so well. "Well I guess it's good he's taking a break then!"

"As am I. A perfect time too since a new shipment of fresh strawberries have just arrived from-..." Anduin cut himself off as he dodged a sudden rush of red rose petals flying by him, nearly jumping into the guard, who appeared just as astonished as Anduin.

Of course that astonishment only lasted until a loud thump was heard from behind the two of them, and when they turned to face the source found Ruby crumpled unceremoniously in a red and black heapon the floor clutching at her bandaged leg. " _Ow! Ow! Okay!_ No semblance!"

Ruby glanced over at Anduin and the guard a moment lwteer at the sound of one of them clearing their throat just in time to see the guard wheeling her wheelchair back out of her room. Her only response was an embarrassed chuckle.

* * *

"Well Ruby I must say, I think that you've impressed my father." Anduin complimented as he gently guided the girl in question's wheelchair through the castle's royal gardens. After dinner was over he had taken it upon himself to give her grand tour of the massive castle, and after nearly an hour of wandering finally found themselves in the gardens.

"You think he liked my trick?" Ruby asked with a childlike grin, tilting her head backwards in an attempt to acquire a better view of the prince.

"While... _Impressive_... I think it was more down to your kindness and sense of humor." Anduin replied with a lighthearted chuckle. "Not your ability to stuff 10 whole strawberries in your mouth at once."

"Yang always says it's a good trick." Ruby explained, touching a single finger against her chin as she seemed to be attempting to recall something. "Something about me ' _making a lucky guy happy_ ' but I usually just tune her out whenever she starts talking about boys."

"Your sister sounds like a Uh-... _Wonderfully unique_ person." Anduin muttered, softly shaking his head. From the stories that Ruby had told him of her elder sister so far, unique was probably one of the most charitable ways one could describe the whirlwind of destruction and strawberry sunrises that was Yang Xiao Long.

"You don't have to tell me she's nuts!" Ruby countered, easily catching the hidden meaning behind his words, though she was clearly not offended by said meaning. After a moment however her smile vanished. "But she's my sister. I love her, crazy parts and all."

"Do you miss her?" Anduin asked as they wheeled into a small clearing,his own smile vanishing in turn. When they came to a stop he walked out from behind the chair, kneeling in front of Ruby to examine the bandages wrapped around her leg.

"...Yeah... Guess I'm just worried. I've never been away from her for more than a few days..." Ruby explained as she watched as Anduin unwrapped the bandages, exposing her skin, still charred from it's direct exposure to felfire. "Are you sure Wrath will be able to get her help?"

"If Wrath can't do it then I'm honestly not to sure who can." Anduin replied, his hands beginning to glow with soft rays of Light, which the young prince soon began to direct into Ruby's wounds.

Ruby silently nodded in response and watched in amazement as Anduin's fingers ran along the surface of her leg, which seemed to almost wipe away the wound like an old rag washing away the dirt from a countertop,

"Hey..." Ruby meekly began after nearly a full minute of silence between the two, waiting for Anduin to glance up from his self imposed task before she continued. "How'd you and Wrath meet anyways?"

"Oh well that's quite a story..." Anduin chuckled, turning both his gaze and attention back to the job of healing the reapers leg, but not before muttering, "Lets just say it involves an orc, a bell, and a little bit of faith..."

"Ooh, did it have explosions?!"

"Yes, yes it had one rather large explosion of sorts." Anduin replied as he pulled himself to his feet and grinned proudly at his work. "I'll tell you the full story some other time, but for now we should get you back-..."

"Wait!" Anduin froze just as he was about to grab the handles of the wheelchair and glanced down at the black haired girl, who turned in her chair to face the prince. "Can we visit my friend first? I heard the guards talking about how Jaune is going to become a knight!"

"A knight? With that sword and shield I was under the impression he was already one." Anduin asked confused. After all, it seemed like a logical conclusion to come to. Then again he was currently talking a girl who was apparently able to wield a transforming scythe about two times her size, so he supposed logic was up in the air with this particular group of people.

"Well I mean they didn't actually use the word knight but I kinda forgot what they called it and when I asked what they meant by the word they said they explained it was a word meaning holy knight." Ruby explained as she repositioned herself correctly on the chair.

"Do you mean paladin?" Anduin asked, leaning over Ruby's shoulder slightly.

"Yes! Yeah, that's the one!" She confirmed, bouncing around in the wheelchair. Even injured this girl seemed to possess the energy of a small army. Part of him loved the idea of seeing this little ball of energy at peak health. The other half was fearful for the same reason.

"Very well. I'll take you there, but then I must attend to something..." Anduin explained, suddenly growing somber, though he attempted to hide his sudden dip in feelings. "Something important..."

"Anduin? Are you okay?" Ruby asked, easily sensing the distress that was clear in Anduin's voice, despite his best attempts to try to hide it.

"What? Yes! Yes I'm fine. Sorry." With that the two set on the task of finding Jaune.

* * *

For the what seemed like the hundredth that night Corcea Mors clattered bodily against the ground, launched away from it's wielders hand, who cursed loudly at the blade.

"Patience Jaune..." A greying old man slumped in a cushioned chair patronized a blonde young man, watching as he ground his teeth, glaring at the training dummy before him with hatred. "The sword in your hands is not merely a tool to be used against your enemies."

"What do you mean Tirion?" Jaune asked with a loud tired sigh, his shoulders slumping exaggeratedly as he exited his fighting stance, though the power of the glare directed at the training dummy had not diminished in the slightest.

"That sword, and the Light you attempt to call upon, will not fight for you if you do not believe in what you fight for." Tirion explained, watching as Jaune retrieved his old family sword.

"But... What am I fighting for?" Jaune asked, turning to face the old paladin, who chuckled at the younger warriors words.

"That is for you alone to decide..."

Just as Jaune was about to resume his training a knock at the door echoed throughout the room. Only a moment later the door swung open, and behind it was a giddy Ruby, with Stormwind's prince standing beside her, holding the door open. "Hey Jaune!"

"Oh, hey Ruby!" Jaune replied with a small wave as he watched Ruby wheel herself into the small training room. He quickly noticed the fresh bandages that adorned her leg. "How's the leg?"

"Eh, it's getting there." Ruby answered with a shrug.

"How's your training coming along?" Anduin asked with a calm smile. Jaune always got a friendly vibe from Anduin. Despite his high birth the young man was even more humble than a begged, and kinder than a priest.

"Great! I've almost got some of the basics down already." At those words, eqch and every pair of eyes all focused on Jaune, who was covered in black and blue bruises, and then the training dummy which was completely immaculate, not a scratch on it's surface. "Like I said... Almost..."

"Well keep at it!" Ruby proudly ordered, giving the young man the salute she had seen the guards using which he returned in kind.

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

"Thanks for taking me around today Anduin." Ruby chirped as the young man in question gently pushed her wheelchair up to the entrance of the guest room where the young reaper had taken residence. "I know it must be a pain to push me around everywhere-..."

"Think nothing of it Ruby. I'm happy to help." Anduin interrupted with a kindhearted smile, though behind that smile Ruby could sense the slight hint of sadness. Just what was Anduin sad about? Was it just her imagination perhaps? "You should get to sleep though."

"Aww... But I'm not tired!" She protested with a childish whine at Anduin's directive, earning a small poke on the top of her head from the prince, causing to puff her cheeks out.

"My apologies, but there is a matter I must attend to elsewhere." Anduin explained, obviously attempting to keep his reason for the departure vague. "Other than possibly the library the castle lacks much for one to do in leisure time while wheelchair bound and I doubt that you would be much of one for reading."

"Dang... Alright." Ruby sighed as Anduin guided her wheelchair through her bedroom door, leaving her there with a small yet formal bow.

"Goodnight Ruby." With that he turned his back to the reaper, plodding down the hall, his shoulders visably lower than they had been before. Something was definitely wrong, Ruby was sure of it now.

"Night Anduin!" Ruby called out to Anduin's retreating form. Once she was sure that the Prince had disappeared down the hall she fished in her pocked for but a moment before pulling out a small brown sack the size of her fist, before she turned towards the guard who stood by her door. "Hey buddy."

"Yes m'lady? How may I be of assistance?" The guard asked as he glanced down at the tiny warrior who held out the sack she had fished from her pocket in front of her. When given a shake, the bag jingled. There was money in that pouch.

"I'll give you this bag of gold if you bring me to wherever Prince Anduin is going."

* * *

Ruby sighed as she wheeled through the graveyard. The guard had lost his nerve at it's entrance, worried about getting caught away from his post for too long. Ruby ended up giving him the gold anyway, she did not want to go back on her word, even if the guard was a scaredy-cat.

When she finally was able to locate Anduin she was surprised to find him standing next to a large monumet, clenching his fist tightly against his chest, while attempting to steady his shaking shoulders, which only seemed to shake harder the more he tried.

"Anduin? What're you doing?" Ruby called out in a worried tone, causing Anduin to freeze for a moment before he turned to face his friend, who's concern only grew when she got a good look at the Prince's face. It clearly looked like he had been crying.

"I should've known you'd find me somehow." He replied with a bitter chuckle. He was not mad at her, not at all. But damn the luck that she should find him in such a pitiful state.

"Yeah sorry, I couldn't resist." Ruby said as she propelled her wheelchair forwards until she was only a scarce few feet from the prince of Stormwind, who's gaze had not broken from the red hooded girl since her arrival. "So why're you out here?"

"I had to visit someone's grave..." Anduin finally explained after a few moments of silence, gently laying his gloved hand against the surface of the smooth white marble stone. "Someone important..."

Ruby gave Anduin no response, instead wheeling herself over to the monument and silently read the inscription to herself, her eyes widening in realization with each word.

 _'Her majesty Tiffin Ellerian Wrynn, the Queen of Stormwind. Fair and just. A wit as quick as her smile. May the Light inherit your warmth, for our world grows cold in your absence.'_

"This is... Your mothers grave... Isn't it?..."

"Yes... I come here whenever I need to take a break from it all. Whenever the chaos of the world just becomes too much." Anduin's face was suddenly overcome with a guilty expression that dominated his features. "Honestly, it's been... Harder to visit her lately."

"How come?" Ruby asked.

"...I'm honestly not too sure." Anduin replied with a dismissive shrug, his voice quiet, subdued even. "It used to be so easy to stop by, but recently... I don't know... It just feels like coming here compounds my sadness instead of eliminating it."

"Do you feel like... You never got the chance to do something with her before she died?" The reaper inquired as she carefully slid off of her wheelchair and onto the ground, giving a silent sigh of pleasure as she felt the soft grass between her fingers.

"Try anything..." Anduin gave another bitter laugh, sitting down on the ground next to Ruby. Neither noticed just how close the two of them were to each other. "I never knew my mother... At least... Not to any great degree..."

"I understand."

"What?"

"I said I understand." Ruby clarified when Anduin glanced over at her with curiosity in his gaze, though it took her nearly half a minute to mutter her next few words. "Not knowing your mother..."

"What? How would-..." Anduin's eyes widened as he realized exactly what Ruby was insinuating. "... _Oh_..."

"So I mean... I get'cha." Ruby gave the prince a soft smile as her own happy go lucky nature took a backseat to the situation at hand. "It's... _Not easy_ sometimes."

"No, its _not_..." Anduin sighed sadly, his eyes finding the bottom of the monument, intently staring at the smooth surface of the stone longingly. "I often wonder what sort of woman she was like, how she-... How my life may be so much _different_ were she alive."

"Well, I dunno how exactly things would be different..." Ruby reasoned, glancing up at the star filled night sky and the Azerothian moon, which was whole, and not shattered like Remnant's. It was strange to her. "But she was your mother, and if she was anything like you, then she must've been awesome."

"Thank you Ruby..." The two smiled at each other, before Anduin stole a glance over at his mothers grave. A thought occurred to him as he did this, starting as a niggle at first, but eventually he could not resist asking. "May I ask... What was her name?"

"Wha?"

"Your mothers name."

"Oh! Summer Rose."

"Summer Rose..." Anduin repeated, mentally engraving the name in the back of his mind. Glancing over at the reaper once more he gave her a comforting smirk. "What do you remember about her?"

"Well she made awesome cookies according to Yang." Ruby sighed sadly as she wracked her mind for even the slightest sherds of memory of her mother, but it seemed with each and every day that passed the memories grew fainter and fainter. "But.. Other than that not too much... I mean... I was like you... I was so young..."

Anduin laid his hand on Ruby's shoulder as her composure began to crumble.

And crumble it did. Soon her shoulders were shaking like a leaf and her voice barely resembled the hyper and fun loving tone it usually held, perfectly mirroring her glass-eyed expression. "She died on a mission, caught by a pack of Grimm... They wouldn't... They never even searched for her body..."

"You don't have to continue... It's alright..."

"It's fine..." Ruby seems to grow more somber with each word. It was no longer just her shoulders that shook now. Now her entire body seemed to be shaking as she attempted to contain what was obviously years of pent up emotion. "I know that she loved Yang and I with all her heart... I remember her smiling face and how she used to sing to me to put me to sleep... But... I... I can't-..."

"Ruby..." Anduin muttered as he watched tears begin to fall from Ruby's eyes, running down her cheeks in bitter streams and it absolutely broke his heart. At first he had no idea what to do. Should he have been diplomatic? Given her some consoling words before sending her back to the castle? Maybe. He would never know, because instead he did what he knew in his heart was right.

" _I just... I just-..."_ Ruby's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened as she felt arms wrap around her lithe frame, and when she finally registered that Anduin was hugging her the tears had stopped flowing, replaced instead byba comforting warmth that the reaper felt she could melt right into.

"Ruby... I can promise you this..." Anduin whispered into Ruby's shoulder, giving her small form a light squeeze. "The memories of your mother may have faded... But she will never be forgotten..."

"Thank you..." Ruby whispered quetly, closing her eyes to just enjoy the warmth she felt. After they sat there for a while longer Ruby let her eyes open, giving the prince a guilty smile. "I'm sorry... I kinda put a downer on visiting your mom huh?"

"No... You didn't. In fact... I think I may have just found a new reason to keep coming here." Anduin replied, before pulling himself to his feet. "Come on, I think we should get back to the castle. Or rather, we should get _You_ back to the castle."

"Wha?"

"I still have a few errands to run. _You_ , however, should be resting." He explained as he carefully assisted Ruby back into her wheelchair, making sure to not accidentally drop her and irritate the injuries further.

" _Ohhh no_! Don't go trying that one again!" She snapped in an attempt to sound demanding. Judging by the humored grin on Anduin's face though, it was a failure. Just how exactly was Weiss able to pull it off all the time?

"Just trust me... I think you'll find it'll all be worth it tomorrow." He explained, to which Ruby could only give a grin.

"Alright fine! But you better take me with you next time!"

Anduin shook his head as he let out a chuckle. " _Deal_."

* * *

 **And that's the oneshot! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14: My Demonic Protector

**Wow. I seriously did not mean to make this one-shot so long. It just kind of happened. Uh, so more and more I've thought that Yang and Varimas should actually be a couple, so I just wrote this. As usual this one-shot takes place sometime in Broken Wings, most likely post chapter 12, but does not need to be read to get the full story of Broken Wings since Varimas and Yang will fall in love in BW normally. This is just... I dunno, a thing. Alright hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **WARNING:** **Mention of rape in this chapter. This is not a lemon of any sort, but if you are triggered by situations that involve kidnapping or implied rape then please refrain from reading this chapter. I thank you for your continued support and promise I'll have a different more light hearted one-shot up soon enough!**

* * *

My Demonic Protector

* * *

"Here we are! Club Cosmos!" Yang stated proudly as she, the rest of team RWBY, Varimas, and Wrath all drew close to a massive building which was illuminated by bright neon lights that seemed to light the entire street in their rainbow colored glow. "Just opened last week and it's already the most popular place in town!"

"Remind me why we're all here again?" Wrath quietly asked, his normally brightly glowing eyes now only resonating a dull blue light, perfectly conveying his dislike of the entire situation. He normally would have just declined to even come, but the moment that he heard that Blake was being forced along as well he resigned himself to his fate.

"We're here because I'm meeting my date here, duh!" Yang reasoned, adjusting her hair as she sauntered down the street towards the extravagant club. More than one man turned to look in her direction to not so discretely ogle at the blonde, and some were even single!

"Let me rephrase that. Why did we have to come here with you?" Wrath pressed, rolling his eyes under his hood as he crossed his arms, much in the same way a child would when confronted by a parent.

"Because! I might be going on a date but that doesn't mean that I can't be bringing my favorite people along for the ride!" Yang explained, throwing her arms proudly into the air as they finally arrived outside the club. "After all, you all need to loosen up, and I just happen to know that a club like this is the perfect way to do it!"

"What exactly are teenage girls fed in this world to make them so _nonsensical_?" The Death Knight spat, kicking a loose stone on the pavement, watching as the rock flew down a small alley.

" _Mmm_..." Varimas hummed, seemingly agreeing with his friend, though it was hard to tell due to his face being obscured by his mask, as it usually was. Something was off about him tonight though. The vibe he gave off was not one of a pleasant nature, which was why all but Wrath seemed to be keeping quite a bit of distance between them and the warlock.

Even Ruby seemed saddened by the situation that her elder sister was dragging her into. She never understood why Yang was so insistent on making her come on these dates. Every single time it would end with Ruby falling asleep with her head on the table while Yang and the man of the hour would spend practically all night talking about random stuff.

Yang always claimed that it was so Ruby would acquire experience that she could use in her own love life. But she did not need experience! The only two guys she ever even held any sort of sustained conversation with were Jaune and of course Prince Anduin, and Pyrrha had serious claim over Jaune. Anduin was certainly a different story, but Ruby just spoke with him honestly. Not all of this 'date talk' Yang always told her to learn.

"No offense Yang, but I wanted to loosen up I would be on a beanbag in the library right now with a book and a big mug of tea." Blake said, her attention completely captured by her scroll, which flashed through her digital library. Even if she would be forced to go to this club, that did not mean she would be without her books damn it!

"Yeah well that's the boring kind of loosening up!" Yang replied, spinning around to meet her faunus friend with a wide smile. "I'm talkin' the in your face awesome time kinda fun!"

"Yang, just a question?" Weiss interrupted from the back of the group, sticking her hand up above her head in an attempt to be noticed by her friend.

"Yeah, sup Ice Queen?" Yang asked, turning to face the white haired heiress.

"Where exactly did you meet this guy again?" Weiss inquired, the suspicion in her voice quite evident. She certainly had never hard of this guy until a few hours ago, and Yang was usually one to flaunt her current relationship status on her sleeve, and if you did not know about a boy she liked then it usually just meant you were not paying enough attention.

"Oh, Jack? I met him on DustBook!" Yang exclaimed proudly, before falling silent as she looked over the gathered faces of her friends, which were a mix of astonishment, and confusion, at least from the Azerothians. They of course looked like Yang had said something completely esoteric. "What? What's with the looks?"

Weiss was the first to break out of the shock induced trance, pitting her hands on her hips and leaning towards her blonde teammate she began yelling, "Your meeting a guy, who you met on the _Internet_ , in a _nightclub_?!"

"Yeah, so?" Yang asked in a voice that clearly portrayed just how little she thought of the whole situation. When her friends only opened their mouths wider in response she crossed her arms. "Oh c'mon! Don't worry about it! I saw his picture and I talked to him on the phone more than once! Alls good people!"

"If you say so..." Blake muttered, though her eyes betrayed her true stance on the situation. Of course she thought it was a bad idea, but Yang was a big girl. She could take care of herself, and they would all be at the club should things go horribly wrong.

"I know so!" Yang confidently replied, completely missing the look that her friend had given her. "Now come on, lets get in there before all the good games are taken!"

" _Games_?" Ruby perked up, the gloomy expression that once dominated the face of the young reaper replaced with one of hope of potential excitement.

"Yeah! This place ain't just a nightclub Rubes, it's an arcade too!" Yang explained, pointing at one of the windows of the nightclub, where there were indeed a host of different game cabinets, with a good few of them being played by couples or even groups of people.

"An arcade?!" Ruby cried out in sheer joy. Here she had thought she would be forced to endure a night filled with boring 'date' talk between her sister and some guy, but there was an arcade! She was saved!

"Yeah, pretty neat huh?" The blonde sister confirmed, staring inside the nightclub as she spoke with giddy anticipation. "At first you go for the drinks, and then end up staying for the games!"

Ruby had grabbed Weiss' arm and was in the nightclub before anyone could think to stop her.

* * *

"Well this club is completely packed." Blake observed, scanning the sea of people that was packed into the club, with some parts of the crowd so closely packed together that one would have to push through a garden of shoulders and elbows to navigate though the club. "How're you going to find this guy in all this?"

"We're meeting over at that booth over-..."

" _Yang_? Yang Xiao Long?" A voice said, interrupting the blonde. When she turned to face it's source her face lit up with excitement. Before her stood a young human man. His hair was a light dirty blonde color, and was slicked back, with quite a bit of it hidden under a black fedora, which seemed to be there solely to compliment the simple grey shirt and black pants he also wore.

"Jack!" Yang exclaimed, rushing over to embrace the young man in a friendly hug, though she nearly knocked him down in the process. Thankfully both were able to stay up. Yang backed off after the hug, sticking her thing up in the air as she grinned widely. "Hey man, wassup!"

"Hey, Uh-... _Wow_." The man, evidently named Jack, replied as he stared over at Yang with a slacked jaw.

"You doin' alright?" Yang asked, propping one hand on her hip.

"Oh, yes! Yes, I'm fine! Just... You look even better than you did in the pictures..." Jack said as his eyes seemed to crawl all over Yang's form, taking in every last detail about the blonde brawler.

"Well thanks, you ain't a bad lookin' guy either!" Yang complimented, completely missing the stare that she was being given. Jabbing her thumb back behind her at her friends she began to name them off. "These're my friends, Blake, Wrath, and Varimas."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Jack said with an awkward little wave and a nervous smile. Blake narrowed her eyes at this. Jack seemed to be awfully nervous about this whole date, even more so now that they had all been introduced as Yang's friends.

"My little sis and another friend are here too but they're in the arcade." Yang continued, putting a hand to her forehead and narrowing her eyes as she scanned the crowds of people crammed in the arcade in a no doubt futile effort to locate the red hood of her sister or Weiss' white hair.

"Well I'd love to meet them as well, but let's go get some drinks first." Jack suggested, prompting Yang to stop her search, knowing that Ruby would not be out of that crowd for a few hours, at least until she ran out of lien to spend or Weiss dragged her out kicking and screaming.

"Sure! Let's go!" She agreed, before letting Jack link her arm in his own, before they strolled off into the dance and drinking area of the club, leaving Blake and the two blood elves standing awkwardly at the entrance like children who had lost their way in a mall.

Wrath silently glanced over at Varimas who seemed to be enjoying the events unfolding before him about as much as he would enjoy being stabbed in the gut, at least if his crossed arms and flaming shoulders were anything to go off of.

"...You're on fire." Wrath muttered as he launched a small blast of chillingly icy wind in Varimas' direction, extinguishing the felflames that had threatened to overcome the warlock's entire body.

"Oh, thanks." Varimas replied after quick glance at his singed shoulders, patting out the few smoking areas remaining. Soon though his eyes located a small out of the way booth devoid of any occupants. Just what they needed. Or at least just what he needed. "Come on, let go sit down. I don't want to stand at the entrance like a _dope_ all night."

Both Wrath and Blake nodded in agreement before following their friend over to the table.

* * *

Meanwhile Yang and Jack had made their way up to the bar, where an older gentleman stood wiping down a small collection of beer mugs with an old rag that looked like it had passed it's prime some time ago, haphazardly tossing any finished glasses back onto the shelf to be used once more. He certainly looked like be belonged more in an old timey pub, not a modern club.

" _Heyo_! What can I get fer the two of ye?" The bar tender asked. His voice immediately made Yang's eyes widen considerably. He sounded exactly like all those strange short guys in Azeroth who drank too much!

"What do you want Yang?" Jack asked as he leaned against the bar table, gazing up at the plethora of choices available to them. There were drinks that he had not even heard of listed up on the board, and that was certainly saying something.

" _Ooh_ , Strawberry Sunrise!" Yang immediately called out when she spotted her favorite drink on the menu.

"Sure thing." Jack internally let out a sigh of relief. At least she wanted something that he knew about. After a few seconds he turned to bartender, who was waiting patiently on the both of them. "One Strawberry Sunrise and a... Grimm Lagar please."

"Comin' right up!" The bartender exclaimed with a hearty chuckle before turning his back to Yang and Jack, making their drinks with an almost blinding amount of speed. It was certainly now clear as crystal why this single man could handle the entirety of the bar.

"Why don't you go find us a game to play?" Jack suggested, pointing over at the arcade, still as packed with people as it had been when they had all first arrived. "I'll bring our drinks on over."

"You got it!" Yang said with a wave. She had disappeared into the throngs of bodies only a few moments larder.

"Here'yare son, one Strawberry Sunrise and one Grimm Lagar." The bartender said as he put both drinks on the table with a light tapping sound, pushing them towards Jack. "Last Lagar we got until the shipment comes in tomorrow, it's yer lucky day!"

"Hey, I just consider myself lucky to be on a date with such a beautiful girl." Jack responded, handing the bartender the required lien to pay for the drinks before taking one of each into his hands, backing slowly away from the table with a smile on his face.

"Oh, one of them romantics are ye? Well, best of luck to ye lad!" The bartender called with a friendly wave before turning back to his work.

"Thank you sir!" Jack exclaimed before turning around away from the bar before letting a small white pill hidden in between his fingers drop into the Strawberry Sunrise with a nearly inaudible plop. It dissolved into the drink only a few moments later, leaving no visible trace of it's existence. "Thank you _very_ much..."

* * *

"One Strawberry Sunrise miss Xiao Long!" Jack exclaimed as he held up the aforementioned drink in the direction of his date, who was standing atop a small platform with colored arrows on it's surface.

"Oh nice! Thanks!" Yang happily replied as she turned away from a large screen in front of her and accepted the drink, marveling at how perfectly it had been made. "You even got the little umbrella!"

"Of course. A Strawberry Sunrise just isn't a Strawberry Sunrise without one!" Jack said as he jumped over the railing that separated he and Yang, landing on the other set of colored arrows with grace.

"You just earned a hundred Yang rep for that comment." Yang laughed before taking a large sip of the Strawberry Sunrise, all while Jack watched as the drink slithered down her throat with a victorious grin on his face.

Perfect.

"So what's this game?" Jack asked, the smirk from before vanishing almost just as quickly as it had first appeared, just in time for Yang to glance over in his direction. "I've never seen it before."

" _Seriously_?!" She cried in mock horror, leaning against the railing that separated the platform that she stood on with the ground a few inches below. "How can you not have heard of Dust Dance Revolution before?"

Jack gave his date a lighthearted shrug and an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"You've been missing out." Yang exclaimed, stopping to take another rather large sip from her drink before grinning proudly and jabbing a thumb against her chest. "I'm a freakin' _pro_ at this! Even my little sister can't beat me at it!"

"Maybe you can show me how it works then?" Jack asked, earning an exaggerated nod from the blodne.

" _Gladly_." Yang took one last sip of her drink, leaving about half for when she was done, cracked her knuckles together and began the game, quickly selecting a song and difficulty level before beginning her dance.

* * *

"Yang certainly looks as if shes having fun." Blake said as she looked up from the digital book that she and Wrath had been sharing. In plain view was Yang, who was happily twirling around like a maniac on some sort of dancing game, with Jack watching in what appeared to be admiration.

"Well who can blame her. This is her natural habitat after all." Wrath replied, watching the occupants of the room as they went about partying. There was certainly no shortage of unique people populating the room, that was for sure.

There was a small group of teenagers being lead around by a hyper purple haired teen with red eyes, who seemed as if she were just seeing what the club had to offer for the very first time. Wrath chuckled as he watched her. She reminded him of Ruby in a way.

In an adjacent table from Blake and the Azerothian's two figures sat across from each other, both wearing hoods attached to pure black robes. Judging by the authority that danced in their yellow eyes it was obvious they were not people to be taken lightly.

Realizing that he had been staring for far too long, Wrath made to turn back to reading the book which Blake had turned back to long ago. Before he could though he noticed something out of the very corner of his eye.

"Varimas?" Wrath asked apprehensively as he watched his friend, who's head was tilted towards Yang and her date. When he did speak up though, the Warlock snapped his gaze over to meet that of the Death Knight's, though any expression present was hidden by his mask as usual.

" _What_?!..."

"Are you crushing the glass in your hand for a _reason_ or?..." Wrath trailed off as Varimas glanced down to see he was indeed holding onto his cup with enough pressure that it was beginning send small cracks through the entire glass. "Var... Is this about Yang?"

"What's it _matter_?" Varimas spat back defensively, perhaps even a bit too defensively. Wrath noticed this immediately and leaned on his elbows, staring directly into Varimas' mask.

"Do you not like her date or-..."

"I'm going outside." Varimas suddenly interrupted, sliding what was left of his glass across the table before pulling himself to his feet, stalking out of the club in what felt like seconds.

"Wait! _Varimas_!" Wrath called out, but it was already much too late. Varimas was long gone, out into the nightlife of Vale. Sighing loudly he turned back to the scroll he and Blake were sharing. "Well alright then..."

* * *

Around half an hour after beginning her game Yang suddenly seemed to lack the coordination to even beat the first level anymore. It had started as only a misstep or two, resulting in a few points lost in her final score. Now though? Now she could barely even stand up straight.

"Hey Jack... I don't... I don't feel so good..." Yang muttered as she leaned against the game's railing with one arm, her other hand pressed against her forehead. Was her vision was beginning to blur?

" _Uh oh_... _Uh_. Well let's get you to a seat!" Jack sputtered as he desperately looked around the crowded room for something that could serve as a bench for Yang, who was still attempting to get her bearings on the platform of the dancing game.

"No... _No_... I just... Need some fresh air..." She reasoned, carefully stepping off of the dancing platform and into Jack's waiting arms. Why was she suddenly so worn out? She had been bursting with energy!

"Good idea! Come on, let me help you out." Yang nodded and leaned on Jack for support as he began helping her out of the club. Unfortunately about halfway out of the club Yang's foot clipped against one of the many arcade cabinets they were passing. Normally it would have sent her into a fall, but thankfully Jack was there to catch her before she impacted the ground.

The next thing she knew she felt like she was suspended in the air. Looking down though she saw that she was not floating, but instead was being carried out of the club in Jack's arms.

It had happened so quickly. Not even fighting could sap her energy with such speed. How could doing something as simple as a dancing game wear her out so much? Something was not right. Not at all.

That was when she risked a glance up and saw the sickening leer directed at her and with an inaudible gasp and a knot in her stomach, the debilitated brawler finally realized exactly what she had gotten herself into.

One of the last sights Yang saw before being carried out of the club was Ruby, happily playing some random arcade game, completely ignorant to the sigh behind her. Lifting a weak and shaky arm in her sisters direction Yang could only find it in herself to mutter two words. "Ruby... _Help_..."

* * *

"You two saw that right?..." Weiss, who had escaped from Ruby a few minutes beforehand, asked Wrath and Blake as all three watched as Yang was carried out bridal style of the very same door that Varimas had left from, into the dark unknown of the city.

"Yeah. That wasn't at all like Yang." Blake added, shutting off her scroll and stuffing it into her pocket. She did not even attempt to hide the suspicious look on her face. Something about this whole situation screamed foul play, and she did not like it one bit.

"Maybe shes feeling sick? I did see her leaning against that railing before they left." Weiss reasoned, half hoping to convince her friends that Yang was fine, and half to convince herself of the same thought. In the back of her mind though she knew it was futile.

" _Maybe_... But something about this just isn't sitting right with me..." Blake explained, leaning against her chair as she gazed down at a small cheap electronic candle on the table, serving as its singular decoration. "He carried her out like she was a rag doll, not a sick date..."

" _Wait_..." Wrath muttered as he pulled himself from his chair and strolled over to the game Yang and Jack had been playing,retrieved the still half full glass of Strawberry Sunrise and brought it back to the table, staring at the liquid sloshing around inside with suspicion. "Hey Weiss..."

"What?"

"You were bragging earlier today how your nail polish changes colors whenever it comes into contact with certain chemicals right?" Wrath asked, earning a nod from Weiss before he continued. "Were you being serious when you were saying all those things?"

"Yeah, the date rape drug, so?" Weiss asked, falling into silence for a few seconds before her eyes slowly began to widen as she realized what Wrath was insinuating. "Wait... You aren't actually suggesting?..."

"Tell me Weiss..." The Death Knight muttered as he swirled the liquid around in the cup idly, though his eyes never left Weiss. "Do you think Yang, strange though she may be, would be foolish enough to leave in the arms of a strange man if she were in her right mind?"

With that Wrath held the glass out towards the heiress, who reached over and jammed three of her fingers into the drink without hesitation. Her breath caught in her throat when all three nails began to turn black in only seconds. It was laced, laced with something strong. "Oh God... _Oh God no..."_

"We need to find Yang Now..." Blake spoke up as she stood up, drawing Gambol Shroud before turning to the door. "That guy probably has a few minutes worth of distance on us already."

"Right! You and Wrath go on ahead! I'll find Ruby and we'll catch up!" Weiss ordered before pulling out her scroll, beginning to frantically dial Ruby's number with unsteady hands.

Blake gave her teammate a nod before she and Wrath ran for the entrance, their weapons ready to carve through anything that got in their way.

* * *

Varimas let out a soft curse in Thalassian as he kicked the very rock that Wrath had kicked earlier that night out of the alley. He knew that he was acting like a child, and he would neither be surprised nor blame anyone who called him out on such behavior.

But seeing Yang acting so 'friendly' with that man? There was no way around the truth there. It made him angry, watching her hug him as he stared down at her, and Varimas could easily tell that it was not her face or clothes that Jack was staring at.

Why had the others not said anything at that? Were they just attempting to remain friendly with the man? Did they even see it at all? Was he perhaps the only one who even noticed?

His thoughts were suddenly broken when he heard something. Tilting his head towards the street he focused, and soon realized the sound resembled a strained voice. When he did look out he saw a sight that made him sick to his stomach.

There was Jack, carrying Yang away from the club in a bridal fashion, looking smug as anything, as if carrying away some prize. Varimas growled, that's probably exactly what he thought too. That Yang was just some prize.

Varimas nearly launched a fireball at the two of them right there. Was Yang really so stupid? So loose even? Varimas had always pegged her to be a party girl, but this was just a level that he never thought she would ever stoop to. Apparently he was wrong.

If only he could have heard what Yang and Jack were discussing.

"Why?... Jack... Why are you... _Doing_ this?..." Yang asked as she gazed up at her date, desperately attempting to remain conscious. She was not going to let him do what he wanted without a fight.

"Why? _Easy_. Look at you. The moment I laid eyes on you on DustBook I knew I had to have you... I'd be an idiot to let someone like you..." Jack chuckled before licking his lips loudly, a drop of saliva falling from the tip of his tongue and onto Yang's cheek. "Go to _waste_..."

"You... But you were so... Nice..."

"Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble; it's called acting honey." Jack replied as he finally arrived at a large van, it's surface painted a pitch black. He suddenly let his grip on Yang loosen, causing her to fall to the ground headfirst with a grunt of pain and a rapidly forming bruise on her forehead.

Varimas froze when he saw this as a knot began to form in his stomach. What he was witnessing was not consensual. Not at all.

After a few seconds of fumbling with his keys Jack finally got the sliding door to his van open and turned back to Yang's limp form. He bent down and gently picked her up before laying her halfway into the van, leaving her legs dangling out out the entrance.

Yang felt her heart drop when she looked around the interior of the vehicle. Strewn about the van were various objects that Yang could only describe as tools of torture. What was more sickening however was that none of then were clean. Nearly every single one was stained red in a coat of dried blood.

Gathering what remained of her courage, she turned to her leering kidnapper and summoned the best glare she could muster as she whispered softly. "I'll _kill_... You for... This..."

"Yang honey, you aren't in a position to kill _anyone_ , now do us both a favor and shut your _goddamn mouth_." Jack explained before reaching over and looping a finger between Yang's hips and the waistband her shorts, giving the brawler one last victorious grin before beginning to pull the article of clothing away from its wearer.

Before he could get too far however Yang gathered all her energy and launched her leg up with a loud battlecry, nailing Jack between the legs, causing him to stumble back in pain and let out a loud string of curses before glaring darkly at Yang with tear filled eyes.

"Argh!... Stupid _Bitch_!" Jack cried as he stomped over and slammed his open palm against Yang's cheek, causing her head to slam into the side of the van, opening a rather large gash on her forehead.

Before she could recover from the first blow Jack grabbed ahold of her and picked her up, before slamming her against the ground roughly, opening another gash on the back of her head. "This is happening whether you like it or _not_!"

Yang gasped as she felt his finger enter her and tried to launch her arm up to punch her date, but found her arms nearly useless. Only her fingers could move now. If she could will herself to focus enough aura into her gauntlets she would at least be able to escape temporarily. The moment Jack caught her though he would no doubt destroy the weapons, which would simultaneously eliminate any hope of escape.

Just at that moment however, as hope seemed to be fading, Yang let her head roll to the side and saw something that would have made her jump for joy if she could. There in the distance, Varimas was stalking over to she and Jack, and he looked to be anything but humored by the situation. His entire body was surrounded by a thick layer of felfire that danced and sparked in the cool nighttime air.

Unfortunately her joy also came with quite a large dose of embarrassment. She knew he saw her being violated, but nevertheless she stared right at Varimas, giving the warlock a sad smile. _'I wish you didn't have to see me like this Varimas...'_

"Hey... Jack?..." Yang whispered as she turned back to face Jack.

"Hmm? Yeah, what is it?" He asked. He seemed to be too engrossed in attempting to undo Yang's belt fully that he did not even bother to glance up at the brawler. If he had he would have seen the triumphant grin she now wore, and perhaps he would have had a ghost of a chance to escape.

 _"Fuck you..."_

Those words were the last thing that Jack heard before he suddenly felt the wind being knocked out of him as he was violently launched into the air, slamming into the side of his van a moment later, leaving a large dent in the metal door.

"Who-... Who the hell are?!-..." He was launched against the van once more by another blast of energy. This time he was able to feel it. The horrifyingly painful burning sensation that seemed to envelop his entire body in what felt like an inferno from hell itself.

It was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. The only thing that Jack could hear was the high pitched whine of his eardrums. Eventually though his hearing returned, and when it did he heard the soft chants of what sounded like a spell.

Only a few moments later Jack felt what seemed to be a hundred knives digging into the flesh of his arms, causing his eyes to shoot open in panic. When he did he saw them. Strange demonic doglike creatures without eyes were gripping onto each one of his limbs including his legs, digging into his flesh with their razor sharp teeth.

All he could do was thrash about and scream in agony.

Meanwhile, Varimas knelt down next to Yang's fallen form and pulled a small green bottle out from his belt. Uncorking it with a pop, the Warlock brought it down to Yang's lips, pouring the strange green liquid inside down her throat.

The very moment that the liquid entered her system, Yang suddenly found her senses returning to her in a wave of clarity. Her arms and legs were no longer sluggish and useless, and she no longer had any trouble keeping her eyes open, eyes that were now set in a hard glare at the fedora wearing man bring held to the ground by felhunters.

She slowly but shakily brought herself to her feet with assistance from Varimas. Once she was steady she reached down and redid her belt before slamming her fists together, activating Ember Celica, all while watching as Jack began to tremble in fear.

"Hey!... Hey, wait a minute Yang!... I wasn't _actually_ going to-..." He was silenced by Yang slamming her gauntlet into his jaw with a loud cracking noise that seemed to echo throughout the parking lot, shattering the bones on impact.

"Never talk to me again, _pervert_..." Yang muttered, watching with hate in her eyes as Jack laid there in the grasp of the felhunters groaning pathetically in pain. Yang could easily see how deep the felhunters teeth were inside of the man's legs and arms. He would not be able to follow her.

Knowing this, Yang wrapped her arms around herself, backing away from the situation slowly before turning around and walking back towards the club, never looking back at the man who she had been so happy to see only about an hour or so prior.

Varimas gave a humorless chuckle as he stared down at Jack for only a few seconds longer than Yang before he too turned around and began walking away, but not before saying four words that would haunt Jack for the rest of his life. "...Tear off his arms..."

Despite the broken jaw Jack shrieked in pain as he felt as his limbs were bitten down on and ripped from his body by the demons, the sound of tearing flesh drowned out by his futile cries of desperation.

Yang stumbled slowly over to the club's entrance. Before she could even reach the door however, Blake and Wrath suddenly burst out of the club entrance, their weapons drawn, ready to be used.

"Yang! Yang are you okay?!" Blake cried as she dropped Gambol Shroud on the ground with a loud clatter in order to catch Yang as she half-fell into the waiting arms of the ninja faunus.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Yang replied, attempting to keep her balance herself only to miserably fail and fall right back into Blake's arms. Still though, she was able to turn her head to Varimas who was walking over to the group, appearing much calmer than before. _'Thanks to him...'_

Before another word could be uttered between the group Ruby and Weiss rushed out of the club in a torrent of rose petals. The moment that Ruby regained her balance from her semblance rush out of the club she gave the group the sweetest smile she could muster.

"Where is he?" She asked as she unleashed Crescent Rose from it's dormant form, the tone of her voice foreign to the smile that graced her features.

Yang silently pointed to the fallen form of the man who had attempted to attack her, and with a nod of affirmation Ruby walked slowly over with Crescent Rose raised high in the air, ready to strike.

"She can be pretty scary can't she?" Wrath muttered, his voice nearly drowned out over the renewed shrieks of terror and pain that Jack was letting out as the young reapers scythe blade dug into his flesh over and over, creating a thousand small cuts that all oozed out blood.

"When someone messes with her sister, _absolutely_." Blake agreed, watching with increasing nausea as Ruby systematically left either small or deep cuts all around Jack's body. Or at least what was left after the small pack of felhunters had taken away his arms.

"Hey Yang... You feeling alright?..." Varimas muttered as he gently laid his hand upon Yang's shoulder. At first she froze in Blake's arms, which prompted Varimas to withdraw with his hand from her shoulder. Before could however Yang whipped around and embraced the warlock tightly, burying her face in his robes.

Varimas at first struggled to say something, anything at all, but after realizing that words would do little to comfort the brawler just let his arms snake around her waist instead, pulling her closer.

"I'm _baaaack_!" Ruby called out as she strolled back over with an innocent smile on her face, causing those not involved in the embrace to turn to see the little red hooded warrior covered in the blood spatter of her 'foe'.

"Ruby. Is he still alive?" Weiss asked, laying her hand on her hip as she looked up and down her leader's torso. Part of her was glad that Ruby wore so much red. At least it would take someone a good half second more to realize that she was covered in blood.

"Yup! Wouldn't want to kill him just yet!" She answered, perky as ever.

It was this perky attitude that caused everyone to freeze, Varimas and Yang included. Everyone stared at her blankly, though Wrath subtly inched behind Blake, ready to run for his life.

"... _Alright_. Well I'm going back into the club before I become a _murder witness_." Blake muttered before she grabbed Wrath's hand and began to head back inside, with the Death Knight in tow quietly thanking her for getting him away from the apparently psychotic little ball of energy that was Ruby.

"And I suppose I should call an ambulance." Weiss added as she pulled out her scroll and backed away slowly from the scene, but not before muttering, "For Yang that is. Jack can drown in his own blood for all I care."

Ruby meanwhile merrily skipped over to Jack and kicked him right in the gut one last time, causing him to cough up a decent amount of blood onto the black asphalt, before skipping back into the club, the smile never leaving her face. Finally she could get back to that awesome shooting game she had been playing!

Yang and Varimas, even after everyone had left, were still standing in the darkness of the parking lot, neither one ready to break the embrace they held. Varimas knew that Yang's blood was probably seeping into his robes right about now, and he could not say that he much cared anymore.

Eventually though, Varimas let out a small chuckle and spoke softly into Yang's ear. "Hey... Do me a favor. Next time you find yourself a date, make sure he isn't a crazy person."

Yang joined in Varimas' laughter, before she took his hand in her own, squeezing it gently. "No need to worry... I've already got an idea for who I'll be on a date with 'next time'... And he's a _Much_ better guy..."

Varimas finally let his other arm fall from Yang's hips, though the hand that held Yang's stayed strong. "Come on, let's g get you some bandages before you and Ruby end up with the same hair color."

"You got it." Yang laughed, letting Varimas lead her back into the club, no doubt where someone would have medical supplies for the wounds on her head. As they walked however, Yang could not help herself, and soon found herself clutching onto Varimas' arm as they walked through the entrance.

Maybe next time was closer than they had both thought.

* * *

 **As I said before, I should have another one-shot up soon for those who chose to not read this chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15: My Knight of Darkness

**Hey people! Just a quick little one-shot for you all, which completes the sudo-trilogy I've been doing with the last few one-shots. This one is also to sort of celebrate 'Love is in the Air' and focused on FrozenShadow. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _My Knight of Darkness_

* * *

It was late afternoon in the grand city of Stormwind. The sun was slowly beginning to disappear beyond the horizon, tinting the sky and all that it looked down upon a shade of amber. The same shade of amber that currently scanned the pages of an old tome, clutched in the hands of a certain feline faunus.

It had been an overall good day in Blake's opinion. Nothing of particular excitement had transpired, and honestly that was just the way she liked it. She could certainly use a break from the craziness of the last few weeks.

Unfortunately for Blake and her plans to read for the rest of the afternoon, the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded her was soon shattered when she herd a soft knock against the door which separated her guest quarters from the rest of the castle.

"Who is it?" She asked, bringing her eyes up from the dusty old book as she began to list off potential suspects in her head. Anduin and Ruby had disappeared into town earlier without telling anyone, Varimas was off in the mage district doing who knows what, and Yang had mentioned wanting to take a nap. That only left...

"Wrath. I was wondering if-..." Wrath's voice filtered from the other side of the door. He sounded extremely nervous about something. "Can we talk?"

Blake quickly marked her place in her book before tossing it onto her bedside table and jumping onto her feet, making for the doorway. When she opened the door she could not hide the small smile that appeared when she noticed Wrath's hood was down around his shoulders, with his unruly black ponytail hanging freely down his back.

"So... What's up?" Blake asked, leaning on the doorway.

"Oh _Uh_... Can you just follow me into town for a bit?" Wrath asked as he rubbed the back of his head, turning his head away from Blake in order to hide the blush on his face. Why did this have to be so hard? "I just wanted to show you some stuff."

Blake noticed the blush of course. Only someone recently suffering a brick to the head would have missed it. She kept silent on the matter though, instead giving the elf a nod. "Sure, I'll be out in a minute."

* * *

"So why'd you want to bring me out of the castle?" Blake asked as she and Wrath strolled down the packed streets of Stormwind. They were headed towards the Trade District, at least if that map in the library that Blake had taken the time to memorize was at all accurate.

"Well there's this ' _thing_ ' going on right now. Its a celebration of sorts." Wrath muttered as he glanced away from Blake, clearly embarrassed at the situation. Blake grinned. Wrath was cute when he was flustered. "Anduin is taking Ruby and I figured that you and I could go... Maybe... If you want..."

"Wait a minute..." Blake asked as a spark of hope twinkled when she realized exactly what Wrath intended by bringing her out here. It had been months since they had last discussed it on the grounds that Wrath was not ready. "Are you saying this a da-..."

"Blaaaake! Wrath! Hey guys!" Ruby's voice bellowed out from the crowds of people swarming the streets, breaking Blake off mid-sentence. A moment later a little red hooded figure broke away from a particular large clump of people before running over with Anduin and several guards tailing closely behind, all out of breath and sweating profusely.

Not one of them looked like they had been prepared to keep up with Ruby.

"I see you're already well decorated with the spoils of war." Wrath said as Ruby halted in front of the elf and faunus. True to his word Ruby's outfit was decorated with all manner of different trinkets and tokens from wherever she had been. All of them were either pink and red or in the shape of a heart Blake noted.

"You know it! That festival is _awesome_!" She cried as she began to hop in place, the various pieces of holiday paraphernalia jingling around loudly with every hop. How she was able to outrun Anduin and several royal guards was completely beyond Wrath.

Blake did not seem to pay attention to the ridiculous amount of trinkets attached to Ruby's body though. Her attention was turned towards small groups of people glaring at Ruby for standing so close to Anduin, and even some people staring at her in disbelief for being so close to Wrath.

"Anduin, why don't we go see what we can find for dinner?" Wrath spoke up, redirecting Blake's attention back to the elven Death Knight. His hood was still down even in the streets she noticed, something he never really did. "You two'll be fine for a few minutes right?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Blake reasoned with a dismissive wave. She needed to talk to Ruby anyway.

Wrath nodded and turned away from the two huntresses, dragging Anduin towards a particularly packed area of the district, presumably where the food stands were set up. The guards followed of course, though none of them looked as if they knew what to do about the Death Knight dragging their prince around by the collar.

"Hey Ruby, did Anduin happen to mention to you what this holiday was called?" The faunus asked once she was sure everyone else was out of earshot, causing Ruby to poke at her own cheek with her finger in thought.

"Yeah, I think he said it was called _'Love Is In The Air'_." Ruby remembered. It had taken her a second, since she did not particularly care what the holiday was. Any excuse to visit a festival with this much fun stuff to do was more than enough for her. "Why?"

Blake gave a calm smile to her younger teammate in response. "No reason."

* * *

"Thanks for today. I had a lot of fun." Blake said as she and Wrath arrived at the bedroom door of the ninja.

It had been a rather interesting evening. Soon after Wrath and Anduin had returned with food Ruby had scoffed her meal down in record time before sprinting back to the festival. This of course made Anduin eat all that much faster in an attempt to keep up with his hyperactive crush. The moment he was finished his own meal Anduin and his guards also left in search for Ruby, leaving Wrath and Blake on their own.

Neither was about to complain about the situation they had been put in however.

"Good to know." Wrath replied before he began to rub the back of his head awkwardly again as the heat rushed to his face, tinting his cheeks a hot pink. Blake was beginning to think 'someone' had a pretty obvious tell when it came to being embarrassed. "Sorry about the whole Uh... _Perfume_ thing..."

Blake smiled and shook her head, dismissing the Death Knight's apology. "Don't worry, I'm fine. You might want to check on poor Vengeance though, I think she took a direct hit."

Blake and Wrath had been riding on Vengeance near the end of the evening due to the increase of people milling about in the streets, and unfortunately an overeager salesman had gotten just a bit to close to the Deathcharger with a large bottle of perfume.

That situation of course ended up with Vengeance getting quite a large amount perfume all over her and her armor and the merchant ending up with a large bite mark on his shoulder.

"She'll get over it." Wrath laughed as he placed his hand on Blake's head and began rub her exposed ears softly. It was something he had only begun to do recently, and though Blake would never publicly admit it, she loved the feeling of his hand on her ears. "Try to get some sleep, I'm sure Ruby'll have us on our feet all day tomorrow."

"You too." Blake replied as she enjoyed the ear massage for a few more moments before she unlocked her door and stepped inside, though not before glancing back and giving Wrath another smile, a genuine smile. A smile that had been so hard to make for a good portion of her life. " _Goodnight_..."

Once her door was shut Blake quickly changed into her sleepwear before crawling into her bed. It was only a single sized bed, but it suited her purposes well enough. It was honestly the most luxurious bed she had ever really slept in.

Of course as she lay there in silence her thoughts were not on the bed she lay in, but rather the elf who she had spent the evening with. Eventually she was able to drift off to sleep with a small smile on her face.

* * *

"Adam, please just listen to me!" Blake cried as she backed into her tent, with Adam hot on her heels, his teeth clearly bared. He eventually stopped only a few inches from her face, his hot breath against her face.

"No, you listen to me Blake!" Adam yelled in response, accidentally spitting on Blake's cheek, though if he noticed he certainly did not care to mention it, much less apologize. "If I **_EVER_** see you protecting a human again-..."

"They didn't deserve what you did to them!..." Blake interrupted, her trembling fists clenched against her sides. She knew what would happen if she even thought about unleashing that anger, and that thought alone was enough to make her stay her hand. "They didn't deserve to die... Not like that..."

"Of course they did!" Adam hissed, turning around and throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. It had been the same story recently with what he used to consider his most trusted ally and lieutenant. Every recent op always seemed to end this way, with Adam dragging Blake back to her tent, screaming obscenities at her while other White Fang members stood and watched.

"Why?" She asked, refusing to meet his eyes that peered out from behind his mask.

"Because they were humans Blake!" Adam replied in exasperation as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. To him it probably was honestly. No need to think about the innocent lives stolen when you deny their worth as anything more than bugs after all. "All humans deserve what they get!"

"So we're just supposed to harm them because of their race?" Blake asked, crossing her arms as she gave Adam a glare that was filled with spite. And then she said something she would come to regret moments later. "How does that make us any better then the people we're trying to stop?!"

The White Fang guards standing just outside of the tent jumped when a loud smack came from the tent, causing them both to cautiously peer inside. They found Blake stumbling back holding her cheek with shock written across her face. Adam was standing only a few feet away massaging his hand.

The guards wisely returned to their posts before either Blame or Adam turned around.

"The level of sympathy you're showing them boarders on treason!" Adam yelled, unaware of the audience they had gained for that brief moment. Drawing close to Blake he lowered his voice to a dangerously low tone. "We wouldn't want that would we ' _my_ _love_ '?..."

Blake's breath hitched in her throat as she backed away slowly and looked up at the man who had just struck her as tears began to well in her eyes. He had never done that before. Ever. He promised he never would. But he did. " _No_..."

Adam sighed as he watched Blake shrink away from him. "See what you caused Blake?..."

Blake only stood there silent, refusing to respond to the man who had just struck her. Adam quickly realized this and let out an audible growl, jabbing his finger at the ground.

"Don't even think about leaving this tent." He ordered, his soft gaze hardening once again. If only she listened he would not have to become so angry with her. Or at least... That was what he told himself. "We're carrying out that train robbery tomorrow. Be up and be ready, got it?"

"... _Got_ _it_..."

Adam left only a moment later, and without even bothering to remove Gambol Shroud from her back, Blake stumbled forwards towards her sleeping bag and fell onto it face first with a soft thump, letting the tears she had been holding back fall unabated.

She was no freedom fighter. She realized she had lost the right to call herself that long ago. Now she was just a prisoner. A prisoner that had to break away...

* * *

As Blake pried her eyes open slowly, her faunus eyes quickly focused to the darkness that dominated the room. Only moments later she spotted a hooded figure kneeling next to her bedside, it's hand laid on her shoulder which was covered by her sleeping robe, gripping her ever so gently.

"Blake? Blake wake up..." The figure asked, concern clear in his voice. Blake did not need to have enhanced vision to see that the figures eyes were giving off a soft blue glow. Those eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness like a lighthouse through fog.

Eyes that were the source of such fear for so many. They were her light.

"Wrath?... What happened?..." She asked quietly, still groggy from dragging herself from her dreams. Why was Wrath here? She was sure she saw him leave after they had bid each other goodnight.

"I'm not sure, a few guards, Eren and Marco I think, came up to get me... They said you were thrashing about in your sleep..." Wrath explained, causing Blake's eyes to widen in realization. That had been a nightmare. That shock was quickly replaced by a look of slight embarrassment as she glanced down to the floor, her head never leaving her pillow.

"I'm-... I'm fine..."

"No... You're _not_..." Wrath insisted. Blake knew he was right. He knew her way too well at this point. A moment later Blake felt the bed shift as Wrath sat on it's side, his hand never leaving her shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong..."

"I just had a nightmare... Just a _nightmare_..." Blake muttered dejectedly, refusing to look up at the elven Death Knight.

Blake was not exactly sure what she was expecting Wrath to respond with, but all the tension in her entire body was released at once when he began stroking her head in response, letting Blake's ears fold between his fingers as he softly brushed through her hair. It was a comfort, not because of how good it felt, but because she knew she could relax. She was safe.

Once Wrath thought that Blake was fast asleep he silently brought himself to his feet and turned to leave only to freeze in place when he felt a hand grasp his own tightly, restricting him from advancing any further.

"Please don't leave..."

When Wrath glanced back he saw a pair of amber feline eyes staring pleadingly into his own. This sight swayed his decision in only a moment, though he stood frozen for a moment, unable to break his gaze away from her. "...Alright."

And so Wrath stood at her bedside for the rest of the night, his drawn sword in one hand, with his other clutching Blake's. He never let go, even when he was almost positive that she had fallen asleep.

Blake never fell asleep however. She was content spending the night watching Wrath stand over her as she rested. The guardian now standing over her was no jailor. He was her light in the fog. Her bulwark against the nightmares...

' _My_ _Knight_ _of_ _Darkness_...'

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! More to come soon! Let's see how many of you picked up that reference I slipped into the chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16: They Weren't Darkspear

**He people! Just a quick oneshot for you all! I'm still in the midst of craziness, but the next chapter of Broken Wings should be out soon!**

 **Quick note, this takes place right after the one-shot survival troubles, just to give you an idea the timeline!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

They Weren't Darkspear

* * *

It was late in the afternoon in the dense jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. The sun was just beginning to disappear over the horizon, coating the sea of exotic trees in an orange glow. Even the oceans that bordered the jungle seemed to be tinted a dark orange from the rays of the sun.

In a small clearing, far from the coast in the vast maze of vines and trees a small group consisting of Blake, Yang, and their elven companions, were setting up camp. Or in Yang's case, cracking horrible jokes and petting Carcharoth as Wrath, Varimas, and Blake did all the real setting up.

They had spent the day hiking in the jungle from Booty Bay in an attempt to make it to the haunted forests of Duskwood by nightfall. Unfortunately due to some of the more 'aggressive' plant life deciding that the group looked like rather tasty snacks they were slowed significantly, forcing them to set up camp.

Varimas sighed loudly in exasperation as he tied his loyal Dreadsteed 'Felwind' to a tree. So far this had been the day from hell. Not only had their original plans to make it to the boarder by nightfall been nixed, but now the rations he had bought at the pirate cove for when they were in Duskwood would be used up much sooner than intended.

"Alright. I'm going to go scout ahead, make sure there aren't any surprises waiting up ahead." The Warlock muttered, doing his best to not think about the handful of gold he had lost on the preserved fruit and dried meats.

"Got it. Don't get lost." Wrath replied, never glancing up from the peg he was attempting to violently drive into the ground with his hand, while Blake stood over him with a hammer in hand, rolling her eyes at the actions of her friend. Why was she crushing on this loon again?

Varimas gave a grunt in recognition before he began to trudge out of the camp.

"Hey wait up!" Yang's voice suddenly called out, stopping the blood elf in his tracks. Varimas slowly whirled around on his heel to find the blonde limping over hurriedly to him. She had recently taken multiple attempts to walk around without Carcharoth as a mount.

"What?"

"Can I come?" She asked with a bright smile on her face.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Yang." Varimas advised, the caution in his voice clear as crystal. With those words the smile on Yang's face disappeared in only moments, replaced by a small frown that made Varimas shift uncomfortably. Why did her frowning make him squirm so much?

"Why not?"

"You've only just begun walking longer distances without assistance." The Warlock reminded Yang, to Which he received a roll of the eyes from the blonde in response. "The jungle isn't the friendliest of environments for those relearning how to walk."

"Relearning how to walk?" Yang asked with both of her hands planted firmly on her hips as she tilted her head to the side slightly. "Don'tcha think your being a little bit over dramatic dude?"

"Overly dramatic? Exactly how many times have you fallen on your face so far today?" Varimas asked in a smug tone with crossed arms.

"... _Shut up_." Varimas very nearly chuckled when he received a glare from the brawler. Yang certainly had been having trouble staying on her feet, and the bruising on her forehead could absolutely attest to Varimas' argument.

"I rest my case." Varimas concluded before turning back towards the ocean of trees that awaited him. "It'd be best if you just remained-..."

"It's settled then!" Yang interrupted the warlock, throwing her arms up in the air with a cheesy grin on her face. She quickly hobbled past Varimas into the thicket, never bothering to glance back. "Good talk buddy!"

"Hey wait! Yang!" Varimas called out as he reached out towards her, only to resign himself with slumped shoulders after a moment. He had not known Yang very long, but what he did know was that if she wanted something, she got it. " _Ugh_... Very well..."

* * *

"Alright, we've scouted enough. There don't seem to be any immediate threats around. I suppose we should head back." Varimas said as he brushed away a small mound of broken vines that had collected on his shoulders. He dearly missed the pristine streets of Silvermoon right about now.

"Okay. I'm getting stiff anyways." Yang replied, appearing from a small clump of bushes not too far behind her Warlock ally. Unfortunately she had overestimated her level of recovery, and so she had grown quite sore after only an hour of walking.

"Well we're only a few miles from the camp so it should-..." Varimas suddenly cut himself off as he halted in the middle of the dirt road they traveled on. His arm flew out in order to stop Yang in her tracks.

"What? What's wr-..." Yang's eyes widened when she suddenly felt Varimas' hand clamp up against her mouth, silencing her. When she glared over she noticed Varimas was standing still as a statue, as if searching for something.

"Hear that?..." The Warlock asked after a few seconds. When Yang shook her head in denial he clarified. "Footsteps..."

They both immediately dove for a large lush bush before positioning themselves so that they could peer out of the shrubbery. When they did they noticed three large lanky creatures wearing tribal attire walking casually down the road, bows and flint axes at their sides.

"What the hell are those things!?..." Yang asked, marveling at the creatures. Thy looked like they were rather lacking in the civility department. "They look like Weiss whenever we steal her dust supply."

"Trolls." Varimas replied, never glancing away from the creatures, though his voice held no real worry or apprehension.

"Crap. So I take it they aren't friendly." Yang muttered dejectedly. For once in her life she was actually hoping she would not have to fight. Oh well, use what God gave you, right? "What're we going to do? Wanna juat blast our way past?"

" _No_!..." Varimas quickly reprimanded, surprising his companion. Noticing the confusion on her face the warlock clarified. "They might look savage, but they could very well be from the Darkspear tribe. If they are then they might have some supplies we could borrow."

"They don't look like the sharing type. You sure they're-..." Yang trailed off as Varimas suddenly stood up and exited out of the safety of the brush and into full view of the trolls. "No! Varimas!"

" _Greetings_!" Varimas called, causing the trolls whirl around to look at Varimas with wide eyes filled with astonishment. Putting his hands on his hips Varimas let out a small chuckle before speaking. "You gentlemen wouldn't happen to have some extra rations or supplies we could buy off of you would you?"

* * *

"Yang."

"Yeah Var?"

"They aren't Darkspear."

Yang let out a silent curse in response as she and Varimas were carefully tied just above a large fire like roast pigs ready to be doused in the purity of the flames that threatened to lick against their clothing. The trolls tying them to their respective stakes certainly seemed jovial about the whole process, especially the one tying up the brawler.

"Well this is just perfect..." Varimas muttered before letting out a small grunt as the troll tightened up the bindings holding him to the wooden stake before walking to join his tribe members.

"Hey cheer up V-man!" Yang chuckled, giving a small grin. "Look at it this way, at least we'll be getting a tan!"

"Did you just call me-... Never mind." Varimas sighed. Acknowledging Yang's jokes would have to be put on hold until they were far from the danger currently surrounding them. "I would very much prefer to get a tan the traditional way if you don't mind."

The trolls soon began to beat on a small cluster of drums a few dozen feet from their captives, singing loudly in a strange guttural language. A few even began to dance and sway to the beat of the instruments, as if in a trance.

"Uh... What're those guys up to?" Yang asked, leaning her head against the pole she was tied against. "Looks like they're getting ready for a tiki party or something."

"Well if my studies in archeology have taught me anything... They're most likely trying to contact a Loa." Varimas replied as if it were the simplest thing on the planet.

"Uh-huh..." Yang deadpanned. "And that means?..."

"Loa are essentially Demi-gods for the trolls. They have a Loa for everything from the snakes to the clouds." Varimas explained as he began to try to wriggle his arms free of their bindings. "Trolls also believe that if they accrue enough power upon their death then they themselves could potentially become-..."

"As facinating as that all sounds I'd kinda like to know what that means for us, right now." The brawler interrupted, knowing Varimas could probably ramble on all day about their captors. She was more than willing to listen of course. Just not right now. Definitely not right now.

"Well to put it bluntly it means that we're probably going to end up as sacrificial offerings for whatever spirit they end up invoking." Varimas explained as both he and Yang gave their ropes another strong yank, to no avail.

"Kay, that was a little _too_ blunt dude."

As the two continued to struggle with their bindings the tribe suddenly all began to turn away from the two in order walk over to the main bonfire, leaving Varimas and Yang completely unguarded.

"This is our chance!..." Varimas whispered as he let felflames dart from his fingers which burnt through his ropes in a matter of moments, freeing him.

Yang soon did the same after a little bit more time and focus. She still was not the best with her new powers but she was slowly but steadily learning the art of manipulating felflame.

"Let's move. They won't be over there for long, and I'd like to be long gone by the time they notice anything's wrong." Varimas said as he and Yang slowly began to tip toe away from the bonfire, the trolls completely ignorant to their captives escape.

"Got it, I'm right behind ya."

After a few minutes of careful and quiet creeping the two companions finally made their way to the edge of the tribal village. When they were only feet from the beginning of the jungle Varimas finally slowed to a halt. "We're almost home free, just a little-..."

"Uh... Var?..." Yang interupted, causing the Warlock to glance back at his friend.

"What?"

Then he saw it.

Every single troll in the village, men, women, and children, had long ceased their ceremony and were all staring blankly at the escapees, weapons in hand. Dozens of them. And none looked all too happy.

"... _Shit_..."

* * *

"I'm getting a little worried Wrath... It's been over 3 hours." Blake muttered as she leaned against the blood elf's chest plate, watching the flames on their campfire dance about playfully, crackling loudly in the calm quiet of the jungle. "Do you think they ran into some trouble."

"I doubt it. Varimas is more than capable of taking care of himself, and Yang isn't exactly a pushover either." Wrath replied as he slowly ran fingers through the faunus' hair, scratching her ears lightly. "So what were you saying?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what authors you-..."

"Wait..." Wrath interrupted, tensing up as he heard a small snapping sound from the forests that surrounded them. Both Death Knight and ninja were on their feet in a second, their weapons drawn. "What was that?"

Before Blake could even think to respond, the trees suddenly seemed to come alive as Varimas and Yang burst into the campsite, with what sounded like the roar of an approaching army only a few dozen meters behind them.

"What the hell Varimas?!" Wrath asked, only to be pushed aside as Varimas cut Felwind loose and mounted him, while Yang haphazardly jumped on Carchroth's back.

"Less talking, more running!" The warlock cried, prompting Wrath and Blake to hurriedly mount up on Vengeance, who whinnied in exasperation at the sudden panic. Could she ever just have a normal night without these four doing something insane for once?

Soon after everyone was mounted the trolls appeared. A small army had bared down on the tiny camp that the group had set up only a few hours before, all whooping and hollering wildly as they swung about their axes and spears, hungry for blood.

Thankfully the trolls could not hope to be even a fraction as fast as the mounts which the group rode on, and soon disappeared back into the forests of the jungle, leaving their lost quarry to the mercy of the vale.

"Look at it this way guys! At least we're _vine_ -ally on our way to Duskwood!"

"OH _SHUT UP_ YANG!"

* * *

 **And there we go! Like I said, I'm still in the thick of crazy days here, but the next chapter of Broken Wings should be out soon enough!**


	17. Chapter 17: Ruby's First Quest!

Ruby's First Quest!

* * *

 **Alright! Just a quick little oneshot for you all! The next chapter of Broken Wings should be out soon enough, but here's just a little something in the meantime! Hope you like it!**

* * *

"A quest?" Wrath asked as he leaned against a nearby wall.

"Yep! A quest!" Ruby confirmed, bouncing excitedly as she clapped her ajdns together rapidly.

"You're kidding right?" Wrath asked, not even bothering to wait for an answer before turning to Anduin. "Anduin, tell me she's kidding."

"Afraid not. A few hours ago a large group of adventures came to collect the bounty on a small bandit encampment." Anduin explained, placing his hands on Ruby's shoulders to stop her incessant bouncing. "When Ruby saw all the weapons they got as rewards she wanted to try it out for herself."

"Alright Uh..." Wrath glanced around in search of any sort of opportunity that could present itself.

Such an opportunity soon made itself known when they elf spotted kids, a boy and a girl, pinning a poster to a small notice board that was hanging up a few paces away from the small group.

"Do you think we'll ever see Mr. Whiskers again?..." The boy asked, turning to the girl with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sure we will... Let's just keep putting these pictures up." The girl assured as she finished pinning the poster up against the wooden frame of the notice board. "Someone is bound to spot him eventually..."

They soon strolled away from the notice board, presumably in search of more spots to hang posters.

The moment the children were out of sight, Wrath strolled over and snatched the poster from the wall, glaring at the image of the animal staring back at him. "There, this'll work..."

He held the picture out to Ruby, who took at it and made an involuntary squeak of excitement at the prospect of going on her very first quest!

"Your first quest is to find this... Uh..." Wrath snatched the picture back from Ruby's hands for a moment, staring at the crude painting in an attempt to pinpoint the species of whatever what staring back at him. " _Cat_! This cat!..."

" _Oooh_ , okay!" Ruby said as she took back the poster, staring at it herself for a moment before snapping her attention back to Wrath with an excited grin. "What's my reward?"

"Fucked if I know-..." Wrath trailed off when he saw Ruby's smile quickly fade away from her face. Not wanting to deal with a sad Ruby, Wrath turned to the prince. "Uh, I mean... Anduin any ideas?"

"Well the head chef did mention that he was going to be making a fresh batch of his special cookies for dessert tonight..." Anduin offered, pinching his chin in thought. "Perhaps I could convince him to make a few extra-..."

" _Done_!" Ruby was gone before the poster even touched the ground.

"H-hang on! Ruby!" Anduin cried at the place where the reaper once stood. "You don't even know where the cat was last-..."

"Don't bother Anduin. Knowing her, she'll find it eventually." Wrath interupted with a solemn shake of his head. "Whether or not it'll still be in one piece is a different story but-..."

" _Wrath_!"

"What? It's true!..."

Anduin sighed as he covered his face with his palm. "Yeah, I know..."

* * *

"Alright... Well if I'm going to succeed on this epic venture, I'm going to need backup!" Ruby, who was standing in front of the door to the castle's private library, exclaimed as she slammed her fists into her open palm. "And what better backup than-..."

Her statement faded into oblivion as she used all of her strength to fling the large doors to the library open.

Blake, who was inside reading, jumped up with a shriek before she quickly shoved the unmarked book that she had been reading under a bookshelf, standing up quickly with a blush tinting her cheeks. "Ruby! What the heck?! Knock!"

"Hey Blake!" Ruby greeted, racing over and grabbing the faunus hand without missing a beat, pulling her out of the library in a full sprint. "Stop reading your pervy books and follow me! We have a cat to save!"

"I-I wasn't reading anything per-..." Blake stopped when her mind finally registered Ruby's words. "Wait, _what_?!"

* * *

Pyrrha gently pressed an alcohol covered swab on a gash on Jaune's cheek, catching his head in her other hand when he flinched away. "You know Jaune, if you need help with this just let me know and I can-..."

"I'm fine Pyrrha!" Jaune countered, hissing in pain once more when Pyrrha pressed the swab against his face again. "I just need to get around it's defenses! If I do that it won't see me coming!"

"Oh c'mon Lady Killer, it's a dummy!" Yang, who was sitting on the sidelines watching Jaune train against the newly dubbed 'dummy of death'. "If you didn't get it from the front, how the heck're you gonna get it if you hit it in the butt?"

"Oh you would know..." Jaune muttered without even thinking, only realizing his mistake when he saw a flash of yellow rushing towards him.

"What was that?!" Yang growled as she picked up Jaune by his collar, baring her teeth to the terrified paladin.

Jaune let out a high pitched squeal of horror as Yang began to shake him around violently.

"Yang! _Wait_! Don't hurt him, he didn't mean it!" Pyrrha cried as she held her hands out towards Jaune, ready to catch him in her arms should Yang decide to try to throw Jaune.

"Yeah! Yeah, totally! I was only joking so put me down!" Jaune cried loudly, his legs dangling below him like noodles as the brawler continued to shake him around like a rag doll. "Pretty please! _Ow_! Please, I'm sorry!"

Yang held the knight in the air for a few more seconds, staring him down before she rolled her eyes and dropped Jaune, who scurried behind Pyrrha who gave him a soft reassuring pat on the head.

Suddenly, before Jaune had even crawled out from behind his Pyrrha shield, the door to the training hall burst open, revealing an excited Ruby and a confused looking Blake.

"It's questing time!"

* * *

"157... 158... 159..." Ravarth muttered as he sipped on a small mug of hot tea, watching as Weiss went through the gauntlet of pushups, desperately working through the Worgen's special 'training regiment'. Also known to most men under his control as the 'I want to see you suffer' game. "Speed it up Priss, you still got another 141 to go."

"Why are you such a freakin' _sadist_?!" Weiss cried as she balanced herself on shaky arms, the muscles in her body burning like fire.

"You can stop at any time if you want." Ravarth replied, taking another sip from his mug.

" _Really_?... You mean it?..." Weiss smiled hopefully, bringing herself to her knees.

"Aye, I heard the men's barracks needs a good scrubbing anyway." Ravarth chuckled as he held up a small light blue toothbrush, tossing it on the ground in front of Weiss.

"I-is that my toothbrush?..."

"No. That's your scrubber." Ravarth yawned, before using his claws to dig a piece of leftover food from between his teeth, flicking it to the ground. "Get to work. You don't want to still be working when they get back from a day long hike. Bastards stink like a farm."

Weiss fell face first onto the ground and groaned pathetically into the dirt, tears running down her cheeks.

A few moments later, the gathered group of Beacon students walked up to the two, this time with Yang in the lead.

"Hey, big mean and fluffy, mind if we grab Weiss off ya for a bit?" The blonde asked, jabbing a thumb in the weeping heiress' direction.

"No! He doesn't mind! Not at all!" Weiss cried before Ravarth could rsponse, rushing over to embrace Yang in a death hold, terrified the Knight-Lieutenant would make her actually go and clean the barracks.

"Go. She's earned some rest I suppose." Ravarth chuckled, taking one last drink before he jabbed a claw at Weiss. "But don't think I'll forget you still owe me 141 push-ups Priss!"

The group gave the Worgen nods of understanding, all with smirks on their faes before they dragged Weiss, who was silently crying tears of joy, away to assist in their grand quest.

* * *

"Ok! Now that we're all together we can start searching for this cat!" Ruby exclaimed proudly, a bright smile on her face as she surveyed her rag-tag group of group members.

"O... _kay_... So where do we start sis?" Yang asked, causing Ruby to falter for a moment as the little reaper's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! Uh... I kinda ran off before Anduin or Wrath could tell me..." She admitted as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. It wasn't her fault! He should have known the mention of freshly baked cookies would set her off!

A chorus of face palms echoed throughout the group.

"So we're looking for a cat that might be anywhere in the city?!" Jaune asked in exasperation, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Oh man up Vomit Boy!" Yang heartily laughed, giving the young paladin a hard slap on the back, causing him to stumble forwards, nearly falling flat on his face.

"Easy for you to say!" Jaune cried as he steadied himself before he suddenly found himself looking down the barrels of Ember Celica.

" _What_?!"

"Sorry, Sir!-... I mean Ma'am-... I mean sir, ma'am, sir..." Jaune whined pathetically before he slightered back in his hiding place behind Pyrrha once again, who merely laughed good-naturedly before patting Jaune on the head again.

"C'mon Blake, you're a cat, where would you go?" Yang asked once she lowered her weapons, turning to her faunus teammate who bit her lip in thought.

"Well it's a pretty nice day out, and it's early afternoon, so I'd probably want to lounge in the sun for a bit before I-..." Blake soon trailed off into silence and blushed when she realized exactly what she was saying in front of her friends. "I mean, Uh... _Hey_!"

Yang quickly took the opportunity to start laughing at Blake, who did her very best to become as small as possible without actually physically curling up into a ball.

"The sun... The sun... Where's a good place to lounge around in the-..." Ruby trailed off as she shot a hand in the air, exclaiming triumphantly, " _I've got it_!"

* * *

"Ruby I don't think this is what Blake meant!" Weiss cried as she stared down at the courtyard of the castle so far below.

Somehow Ruby had gotten it into her head that the cat would no doubt be hiding up on the roof, which of course led to her taking a death climb on top of what was possibly the tallest structure in the city in search of the animal.

Yang of course was quick to follow her sister onto the roof, along with Weiss, although the only reason that Weiss had followed her leader up onto the roof was because Ruby had threatened to return the heiress to Ravarth if she did not cooperate.

" _Pssh_ , of course she did!" Ruby replied as she shuffled along the side of the roof, scanning the areas she could see for any sign of the cat. "The top of the castle is the best place to see the sun after all!"

"Are you just _completely_ out of your mind?!" Weiss cried as she clung desperately to a flagpole.

"Hey, as much as I love listening to you two argue, could we maybe look for this stupid cat so we can get down?!" Yang, who was also clinging to a small protrusion in the stone, reprimanded the two. "The others aren't even coming up! Don't you think that's a sign we shouldn't be doing this?!"

"Eh, we're good."

"Did you hit your head this morning or something?" Weiss hissed.

"...Maybe..."

Weiss would have pinched the bridge of her nose if she was not holding on for dear life, and so settled with rolling her eyes disapprovingly at her young team leader, who only gave her a toothy grin in response.

"So should I ask what you're all doing, or would it be better to live in blissful ignorance?" A voice suddenly asked from just above the huntresses, causing them to glance up.

There, leaning on a railing looking down at them, was Varimas, his expression unreadable due to the mask that, as always, adorned his face.

"Oh hey Var! We're looking for a cat!" Yang explained, causing the warlock to tilt his head.

"The cat? I saw her in the library a while ago."

"No! Not _that_ cat!" Ruby vigorously shook her head, taking another look around in hopes that her target had surfaced in the time that Varimas had distracted them all. "Like, a kitty cat!"

"Ah... And why would a cat be on the roof?" The elf asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"The sun!"

" _Right_... Have you tried the market? I've seen a few animals gather over there when the suns out." Varimas offered before he backed away from the ledge, muttering something about Ruby needing to be force fed a large amount of sedatives.

"Oh! Good idea!" Ruby pumped both her fists into the air excitedly, issuing her new orders to her group. "To the mark-... _Woah_!"

" _RUBY_!"

Ruby felt herself suddenly falling through the air as she lost her balance, the ground approaching at a rapid rate, too rapid to possibly recover from.

Thankfully her landing was a soft one. For her at least. Jaune unfortunately was not so lucky.

"I'm good!" Ruby called up to her teammates, hopping off of the half conscious Jaune with a small nod of appreciation, skipping towards the market without missing a beat.

"This quest is going to kill us all..." Weiss muttered as she watched her leader shake off her near death fall as if nothing had happened.

"Or at least Jaune..." Yang agreed.

* * *

"Anything?" Ruby asked as she stuck her head out of the tree she was searching.

"Nothing over here, what about you Blake?" Yang asked as she strolled out of the weapons shop.

"Nope... Just rats..." Blake muttered as she moved away a small crate, only to freeze when she came face to face with an extremely short, pink haired man dressed in flamboyant blue and yellow robes, who looked none to happy at being found. "And... _Little people_?..."

"How _dare_ you! I am Thorix Sparkblast! Engineer of the Grand Alliance, and you will show me the proper respect!" The tiny man exclaimed with a tone rather unbecoming of someone of his stature. "Bow before my _might_!"

"Aw! You're right, it's a little person!" Yang cooed as she ran over, ducking down so that she could take a closer look at the man.

" _Fear me!_ " The tiny man screeched before his eyes practically popped out of his head when he suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air. "I said-.. Hey, _wait_! What are you doing?! _Stop that_!"

Yang chuckled as she lifted the small man up staring at him with a smile. "Think it might know where this cat is?"

"That's it!" The tiny man snapped, turning his head over to one of the many winding alleyways. "Guards! _GUARDS_! Arrest these _cretins_!"

"Oh crap..." Yang dropped the tiny man without a moments hesitation, bolting in the other direction before the man had even hit the ground. " _Run_!"

The rest of team RWBY, Jaune, and Pyrrha all quickly sprinted away as a small group of guards ran up, vehemently ordering them to stop as they sprinted after them with weapons drawn.

* * *

"Okay... I'm done." Yang gasped as she leaned against the large tree in the Stormwind Castle garden. "I have no freakin' idea where this cat could be, and I think Jaune's running out of aura."

"They shot me in the butt!" Jaune whined as Pyrrha reached behind the paladin and pulled the arrow out of his posterior, the Light healing his wounds before any blood could seep from the wound.

"Well that's what you get when you fall ' _behind_ '!" Yang snickered softly at her own pun, sitting down on the grass as the rest of the group stared at her, unamused.

Jaune only whimpered in response as Pyrrha began petting his back as usual.

" _Great_... So what're we gonna do now?" Ruby sighed as she kicked a small pebble into the bushes, the look of disappointment clear on her face.

"I hate to say it, but I think you might have to ask Anduin to give you a different quest." Blake muttered, crossing her arms. "Obviously this one is too tough for us."

"Yeah, I guess..." Ruby admitted gloomily, sulking off towards the door, prepared to search for Anduin.

But just before she left the garden a sound suddenly caused her to freeze in place, a shiver going up her spine.

"... _Mew_..."

Everyone in the immediate area also froze in place when that sound echoed through the gardens, though Ruby was the first to actually voice her suspicions. "Did you guys hear that or am I going crazy?..."

"Depends; what'd you hear?" Jaune asked, somehow not believing what he was hearing himself.

"... _Mew_..."

"That!"

"I think it came from over there!..." Blake said as she pointed over to a small clump of bushes near the edge of the garden.

The group all snuck over to the clump of bushes as quickly and quietly as they possibly could, before taking a peak over the bushes only to see the very cat that they had been searching nearly all day for lounging around on the grass, not a care in the world.

"Oh holy frickin' crap..." Yang muttered as she stared at the little ball of fur in disbelief.

"It's been here the entire time..." Blake continued for her friend, her ear a drooping when it slowly occurred to her how much reading time she had missed out on!

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Carcharoth lazily strolled into the miniature garden, presumably in search of somewhere to sleep. Almost like a homing beacon, the demon soon began plodding over to the spot where the cat was currently sleeping, though he seemed unaware of the feline's presence.

"Oh... Oh no... Oh no, oh no, oh _noooo_..." Yang mutterred as she watched Varimas' felhunter slowly make it's way over towards the clearing in the bushes.

"Should we stop him?" Weiss asked, slowly beginning to reach for a rock to chuck at the dog-like demon before it could draw any closer, only for her hand to be caught by Ruby's, causing her to drop the rock on Jaune's foot.

He had to bite his lip to silence the scream that begged to rush from his lips.

"No! He's too close to the cat! We might scare it away!" Ruby countered.

Unfortunately any semblance of subtly was thrown out the window when the cat lifted it's head up, noticing Carcharoth drawing towards it.

It gave the large demon a small innocent meow before walks over to the Felhunter, rubbing it's tiny body against the demon's leg, prompting the demon to rub it's snout against the cat's back.

" _Awwww_..." A few girls in the group, and Jaune, cooed when they saw the display of affection playing out before them.

Just as the group began to relax however, Carcharoth suddenly began to open his massive jaws, the rows of razor sharp teeth coming into view as it rose it's head over the form of the cat.

"Hey, wait a sec, what's he do-..."

 _ **SNAP**_

* * *

"Keep his jaw open Wrath, I don't feel like taking a trip to the healers today..." Varimas muttered as he fished down his demon's throat in search of the cat, which would hopefully still be alive.

"Yeah, yeah, just get the damn cat out already." Wrath, who was holding Carcharoth's jaws open, muttered. He knew this was going to happen. Why had he not just made Ruby run laps or something? It would have at least ended in less destruction. Possibly anyway.

"It was horrible... He just gobbled the poor kitty up!... One bite!..." Ruby sobbed into Anduin's shoulder as the prince held the girl, giving her back a comforting rub as he watched the two elves work. "No cookies were worth that!"

"Don't worry Ruby, Varimas and Wrath will have the cat back out soon." He assured, silently praying that it would not be half digested when they finally did pull it out.

"I still can't believe you were able to break 3 different laws looking for a _Cat_..." Ravarth muttered as he tightened his grip on a struggling Weiss, who he had flung over his shoulder. "Priss'll be paying for those crimes with a hundred extra pushups each."

"No! _Please_! It was all Ruby's fault! Not me!" Weiss begged, though it quite clearly fell on deff ears. "Punish her! _Not me!_ I can't take any more pushups!"

"Alright, I'm headed back to the barracks. Someone has some cleaning to do."

" _Nooo_!..." Weiss sobbed as Ravarth silently carried her away.

"There!... _Finally_..." Varimas exclaimed as he pulled the soaked cat from Carcharoth's jaw, still shivering in terror from it's experience. Not wanting to hold onto the wet feline for any longer than he had to he quickly held out the cat towards Ruby. "Here, take it."

"Thanks..." Ruby sniffled as she accepted the cat before glancing up at the warlock with tear blurred eyes. "Why'd he do that anyways?... The cat was only being nice to him..."

"Oh, Carcharoth's always had this ' _thing_ ' about cats. He just likes the taste of them for one reason or another. We really aren't sure why." Varimas explained with a nonchalant shrug.

Blake glanced over worriedly at Carcharoth, only to let out an involuntary whimper when she saw the rows of sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight as he stared at her.

And then he ran his long tongue along his lips, never breaking his line of sight on the faunus.

She was out of the gardens in an instant.


	18. Chapter 18: The Void Calls

**Okay! Here's a short little snacky chapter! As of right now, it's not cannon, but very well could become so in the future! (Some elements such as where they are in the timeline are cannon however.) For now it's just a nice little horror based oneshot for you all! Enjoy!**

 **EDIT: This chapter is now considered to be cannon! All characters and events included!**

 **For a little added ambience, go to YouTube or itunes and look up "Erutan Music Box". It's a cover from Silent Hill 2 that I listened to while writing this chapter!**

* * *

The Void Calls

* * *

Professor Ozpin sighed as he ingested the last sip of his mug of coffee, placing the empty container on the only clean spot of his desk that was not overrun by a multitude of papers and other mugs.

It was his fifth that day.

Ever since the Legion had decided to make their move, he and the other teachers had retreated to a small compound a few miles outside of Vale's boarders to rest, recuperate, and plan.

They had even met an ally along the way, who was all too keen to help them.

Ozpin glanced down at the documents he had been working on, the journal he had been keeping since he had arrived in the compound, before giving his aching temples a massage. He had been working almost non-stop since they had arrived. Some nights he had honestly forgotten to even sleep.

Realizing that continuing to work would do no good any longer, the grey haired man pushed his chair away from the desk before bringing himself to his feet, taking a small look around the room he had called home for the last few weeks.

It was modest at best. Even the dorms back at Beacon Academy were of larger proportions than this. He was honestly thankful that he had not had to share what little space he was afforded like Glynda was forced to when their ally had made themselves known.

Not that she had been upset. Quite honestly everyone was more than happy when the woman had made herself known to them.

As he crawled into the small makeshift bed he had crafted out of two couches and a sheet, he could not help but to ponder exactly what the future would look like for Remnant.

Would it be a future where peace and prosperity reigned? A future where one would not need fear the darkness of the Grimm? Or would it be one forever controlled by the Legion, scarred by their infernal Burning Crusade?

Only time would tell, he thought, letting his eyes droop shut as he drifted off into a deep sleep...

* * *

Darkness.

That was all he could see. Unending darkness.

Not even his own body was visible in the murky blackness that now surrounded him. He could not turn his head. He felt as if he had no eyelids for which to blink. Even his arms and legs refused to obey him.

Were they even there?

"Where am I?..." He muttered to himself, only to whisper out a sound of confusion when he suddenly felt another presence near him.

A presence of warmth and comfort.

" _Why... You're just where you should be.._." An image of his own slumbering form appeared before the professor, his body unmoving. " _Asleep in your little hideaway, safe from the dangers of your precious world... The world you want so desperately to save..."_

"Who is this?... How can you speak to me..." Ozpin asked, the warmth surrounding him like a shroud of assurance.

" _You think it is over, don't you Ozpin? The Legion has come, and with them they bring the end of your way of life. Now, only darkness surrounds you. Yet in that darkness, there is still a light!..._ "

The pitch black darkness was suddenly pierced by a faint golden light which grew in strength before engulfing Ozpin's vision. Instead of darkness, Ozpin now saw a faintly blurry image of Azerothian and Remnant forces tearing down a Legion structure as a crowd cheered them on.

 _"A new Era has begun, an Era of Heroes. Worlds that could not be any different from one another, come together to fight the Fel Shadow. And perhaps they may resist..."_

Fleeting images of of Wrath and Blake, Ruby and Anduin, Weiss and Ravarth, Jaune and Pyrrha, Varimas and Yang crossed Ozpin's vision. Each and every warrior who had given so much in their fight against the Legion.

 _"For I have seen their inner thoughts and motives, and in each one is a light that not even the Legion can smother..."_

Ozpin then was given a view of an ashen battlefield, covered in the dead of Legion, Alliance, Horde and Remnant forces, a small bright flower growing amongst the corpses and discarded weapons.

" _Hope_."

The flower continued to grow in size as the area around it slowly began to warp back to life.

Suddenly, that warmth, that comfort that the presence beside him had been exhuming so profusely suddenly turned cold and dank as the next words that slithered into Ozin's ears sent shivers through his form.

" _And now I know what must be done. Know that I will spend every ounce of my strength and power... Into snuffing it out..._ "

Suddenly, as if struck by the withering touch of death, the flower wilted, before dispersing into ash as the sky turned blood red as armies of horrific beasts, almost indescribable in nature begin to slowly arrive on the battlefield.

"No... Who-... Who are you?..." Ozpin asked once more, his heartbeat hastening when the voice spoke again, the sound so unsettling that the professor felt his stomach twist in anxiety.

 _"Did you honestly think that these so called 'Heroes' could stand against my might? I will not rest until this wretched world is within my grasp, and there is nothing you can do to stop me... No matter what era or world your Champions come from, I will crush them as I have all others before them..."_

A host of those indescribably horrifying creatures converged on an image of a partially destroyed Beacon, which was covered in a strange biomass, a maelstrom in the sky hovering above it menacingly.

" _So come then you fool, send your Heroes in all their might and glory... Send them, knowing you send them to their deaths... For no matter how many of my Children you kill, you only delay the inevitable..."_

Finally, one last vision crossed Ozpin's view, the view of none other than Salem standing before him, who smiled wickedly as a strange being manifested behind her, enveloping her in horrifying tentacles, wrapping around her like a shroud.

" _Thoq ag maq oou; ag maq ssaggh... Ag ma shg'fhn..._ " **(For we do not live; we do not die... We are outside the cycle...)**

Ozpin felt himself beginning to run, his actions not his own, as walls of brine covered flesh begin to manifest around him, encompassing his screaming form in a shell of flesh and bone.

 _"In the sunken city of Ny'alotha... Even light must die..."_

* * *

Ozpin's eyes shot open as he took a large breath into his lungs, his throat dry and scratchy. As if he had been screaming.

He was no longer on the bed that he had made for himself, but was on the floor, nearly a good meter or two away from the couch bed.

He glanced over towards the door when a small shifting noise reached his ears, only to see a pair of black combat boots with armor covering the shins staring back at him.

He looked up to find his ally standing above him.

"Hey Oz? Everything alright there?" The woman asked, peering down at him, trying not to giggle at the ridiculous position she had discovered her friend in.

"Y-... Yes... I think so..." Ozpin replied as he sat up, clutching at his head, trying to make sense of what he had just seen. "I'm not sure..."

"Bad dream?" The woman asked as she reached a hand over, helping the professor up to his feet before handing him his cane, which had been knocked away from his desk at some point in the night.

"Yes, just a bad dream..." Ozpin said, accepting his weapon with a nod of thanks. His face however, showed nothing but unease. That had to be it. Only a dream. "That's all... It was only a bad dream..."

The woman shook her head with a small smile before holding out a large cup of freshly brewed coffee as he looked down upon her. "Here, thought you'd need this, and evidently you do."

Ozpin chuckled and accepted the cup, taking a small sip before directing his attention back on the woman. "May I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"...Is it over do you think? Have we already lost?" He asked quietly as he gazed out of the single small window that connected his room to the outside world. The world who's sky still burned with Felfire.  
His tone was not that of one who had been defeated. It was one of confusion; of uncertainty.

"No, I don't think so.. We haven't lost yet..." The woman replied, her tone more more serious than it had been before. "Not while Remnant and Azeroth still stand against the Legion."

"Yes... Yes I suppose you're right..."

The woman gazed at him for a moment, unsure of how to respond to her friend's mad ramblings, before glancing over at the doorway.

"I'm going to go help Glynda with any stray Grimm that may have wandered near here last night." The woman began walking towards the door, eager to remove herself from Ozpin's apparently strange morning rituals, but not before asking, "You _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yes... I'll be fine." Ozpin assured the woman, forcing a calm smile onto his face. "Go on ahead."

The woman nodded as her own smile returned before she made her way out of the room, the chains of her weapons accidentally smacking the doorway as she left.

Ozpin gave one last sigh before he made his way over to his desk, ready to restate his work.

That goal was cut short however, when Ozpin noticed something that made him his coffee to the ground, the ceramic bursting into a dozen pieces against the hard wooden floor.

He nearly felt his stomach do a flip as he raised his bloody and scratched up hand to his face.

He gazed down in horror at the documents he had been working on to find a single word scribbled over and over on almost every single sheet of paper before him in what appeared to be dried blood.

His dried blood.

' _Shgn... Shgn... Shgn... Shgn..._ '

... _Fear_...


	19. Chapter 19: Faith

**Well I've certainly had some free time lately! Here's another semi-short oneshot for you all! This time focusing on the story of how Wrath and Anduin first met! I promise I'll start working on the next chapter of Broken Wings now! Enjoy!**

* * *

Faith

* * *

- ** _3 Years Ago_** -

In the mystical lands of Pandaria, on a small outcropping overlooking a steep cliffside, a single hooded figure sat, watching the events unfolding on the small platue before him.

The Horde Warchief, Garrosh Hellscream stood before a massive ornate bell, at least twice his size. In his hand was a mace, poised to strike at a blonde haired young man standing between the Orc and a bell defiantly. "...-Your interference has cost me a great warrior, young prince. You'll pay with your _life_!"

"That is where you are _wrong_ , Garrosh." Anduin replied, earning a low growl from the brown skinned Warchief. "The mogu made the Divine Bell to create chaos, but the Pandaren created a special mallet to turn the echoes of that chaos into perfect harmony. That mallet was hidden for thousands of years, until now."

Without another word, Anduin leapt towards the Divine Bell, slamming the mallet in his hand against the sacred metal as hard as he could, the sound that emanated from the bell, the sound stunning Garrosh and causing a massive crack to form along the side of the Divine Bell

" _Die, whelp_!" Garrosh yelled in blind bloodlust, charging towards Anduin with his mace raised above his head. Anduin was quick to dodge in incoming blow, the mace instead impacting against the Divine Bell.

The bell gave one last groan of resistance before it suddenly began to crumble into a dozen smaller pieces, landing in a heap onto Anduin, who was crushed within an inch of his life as the massive fragments of the bell obliterated his rib cage and shattered his appendages.

Garrosh gave a small chuckle as he watched the Prince moaning pathetically in pain, before turns away from Anduin, gazing out at the lands of Pandaria. The lands that would soon be his. "Your Alliance must be at its end if you're sending your _children_ against me."

The Warchief then walked over to his personal wyvern, mounting the beast which began its take off only a moment afterwards, carrying it's laughing master into the skies, away from the dying Prince.

The courtyard grew silent, save for Anduin's haggard breathing.

As he lay there, the last shreds of his life ebbing away, his thoughts turned to what he had accomplished. What had happened over the course of his short life, the insanity of the last 10 or so years of his life not lost on him, though another though soon crossed his mind as well. What could have been.

He glanced over at the floor next to his head, finding it harder to breath with each and every second.

This is where he would die. Not surrounded by those who loved and cared for him, but in the lonely, yet captivating, beauty of the mystical mountains of Pandaria, so far from home.

It would not be long now. He would be coming face to face with his mother once more soon enough.

However, just as his lungs seemed to want to push out the last breath that the prince would ever take, a small flower petal fell next to his face, brushing up against his nose, forcing him to open his eyes in order to gaze upon what would no doubt be the last thing he would ever see.

The petal of a rose.

He let his eyes drift shut once as he accepted his fate, a small content smile etched upon his bruised and battered face. It had been a short life that was for sure, but never once was it one with regret.

Suddenly, just as he felt himself drifting away, Anduin felt as a massive weight was pulled off his back, exposing his injuries to the air.

"Wh-... Who?..." Anduin gasped out as he attempted to force himself to open his eyes once more, only to find the task exceedingly more difficult than it had been only moments prior.

"Don't speak." A voice rang out, echoing hauntingly throughout Anduin's skull.

Anduin took in a ragged breath before forcing his eyes open, and through blurry vision saw a hooded figure with icy blue eyes standing over him, hefting a larger fragment of the Divine Bell off to the side, landing in a pile of smaller fragments that had presumably already been removed.

"Who-... Who are you?..."

"I just told you not to speak. Your lungs are probably punctured." The figure reprimanded, kneeling down in order to inspect the injurers on Anduin's back. None of which were minor, no doubt.

"Then I'm as-... As good as dead." Anduin wheezed, reaching out towards the figure, who grabbed the Prince's wrist softly, gazing at the young man with those soul piercing eyes. " _Please_... Tell my father what happened here today..."

"You'll be telling him yourself."

Anduin attempted to open his mouth again in order to protest, only for his vision darken and his consciousness to slip away before he could let out anymore more than a moan of pain.

* * *

Wrath had been having a calm day all things considered.

Since Garrosh had a serious dislike for anything that was not either Orcish or swung around a large axe while screaming about blood and honor, many of the Horde's members had been set lose around Pandaria to do as they please, so long as they did not interfere with the workings of the Horde.

Not that he really listened to what Garrosh said either way, but if he could avoid unnecessary attention, then so be it. He could play along like a good little elf.

Of course that whole idea had gone out the window when Wrath had stumbled upon Garrosh and Anduin during the final moments of their confrontation, and the result of said confrontation.

Granted, Wrath had never had a serious issue with the Alliance like many in his race, due to him living in Icecrown during the incident between the elves and the human faction led by Garithos. So saving Anduin was almost a no brainer for the Death Knight, though he certainly was not looking forward to the Alliance's reaction to learning that their favorite Prince had been crushed like a bug.

Those fears were soon made real when Wrath trudged up to the entrance of the Alliance keep with Prince Anduin in a broken heap in his arms. A large Draenei and human were the first to stop him, their bows aimed at his head.

" _Halt_! Blood elf, state your buis-..." The guard trailed off and dropped his bow in horror as he realized exactly what the Death Knight before him carried in his arms like a sack of food. " _Prince Anduin!"_

Wrath growled silently as he watched the human's frankly overdramatic reaction playing out before him. Was it so much to ask to have a question or two asked before they started with the theatrics?

The human took one last look at the Prince before drawing his sword, rage building in his eyes as he glared daggers at the elven Death Knighg standing before him with an uninterested look on his face. "How dare you! What've you done to him?!"

"The Horde ' _Warchief_ ' Garrosh Hellscream crushed him under the divine bell..." Wrath explained, giving the human a roll of the eyes. Someone here needed to drink less coffee during guard duty. "He-..."

"How do we know you're not responsible for this... This _atrocity_?!" The human demanded as he began to stalk towards Wrath, his blade raised.

Wrath was honestly feeling quite the urge to teach the human approaching him where he could stick that sword of his. "Would you just calm your-..."

"No, stop!..." The Draenei suddenly interrupted, causing the human to hesitate and glance back at his patrol mate with a look of complete bewilderment. "No... Let him through... He speaks the truth..."

"What? How do you know?!..."

"Something about him is different..." The Draenei explained, a small naaru crest appearing just above his forehead as he stared as Wrath, who had since leaned against a nearby post, though he had not released Anduin's form from his grip. "The Light still-..."

"What're you spouting on about?!..." The human whispered harshly, this time directing his glare to his patrol mate, who seemed unfazed by the whole display. "Do you not understand who this elf has in his arms?!..."

"Trust me... He means us no harm..." The Draenei pressed, bringing his hands up in an attempt to placate his friend.

The human stood stock still for a moment in thought before grumbling and roughly sheathing his blade.

"Very well..." The human hissed out, clearly not amused with the current state of affairs. Turning to Wrath, he gave the elf a 'come-hither' gesture before making his way inside of the gate of the keep. "Follow me elf, I'll bring you to our Admiral. He'll know how to best deal with this unfortunate ' _situation_ '..."

* * *

Varian and Jaina hastily strode into the room as quickly as they could while still remaining dignified, though the worried expressions on their faces betrayed their true feelings.

Only moments ago a royal guard had come up to both of them when Jaina had been visiting Stormwind, only to be told that Anduin was in serious condition and may not make it through the night. Needless to say Jaina and Varian were only a portal away and were quick to utilize that method of travel.

" _Anduin_!..." Jaina was the first to spot Anduin, laying broken and bloody on a small rag in the middle of the room, running over to him and kneeling over his prone body. Varian was not far behind, also taking a knee next to the fallen form of his only child.

"Anduin, what were you thinking?..." Varian uttered solemnly as he brushed a strand of Anduin's blood caked hair away from his face. "I should've sent you back to Stormwind!..."

"He's alive, but his bones are _shattered_..." Jaina said, her eyes brimmed with tears. She had practically watched Anduin grow from a child to the young man he was now. She did not think she could bear to see that young spark snuffed so easily.

"Send for Velen." Varian ordered the surrounding guards who quickly snapped to attention at the King's words. "Bring him here at once!"

The guards were all out a moment later, all searching for a Draenic mage who would be able to quickly travel to the exodar with little difficulty.

"My King, I _promise_ you..." Jaina began, her voice filled with barely contained resentment at the thought of the brown skinned orc who had caused this. "The Kirin Tor will come down on Garrosh so hard his _ancestors_ will reel! Blood will _pay_ for blood!"

"Jaina-..." Varian began, only to be cut short when Jaina suddenly teleported away in a flash, leaving only traces of rapidly dissipating arcane smoke where she once stood.

"I will end Garrosh for this. His Horde already crumbles beneath him. We will deliver the final blow." Varian's voice finally softened as he knelt down once more to gaze at his son more closely, his heart breaking at the sight. "Anduin... You thwarted the Warchief today and won the Alliance a critical victory... I just wish this didn't have to be the price for that victory..."

After a moment of silence, the King glanced up over at the corner of the room, where Wrath stood, his arms crossed and his hood over his face. "...I take it... You were the one who brought him back?"

"Mhm..."

"Why?... You're a blood elf. You had no reason to-..." The King was cut off as Wrath suddenly shoot up straight, his arms no longer covering his tabard. His tabard of not the Horde, but of the Ebon Blade.

"I wasn't going to leave him to die." Wrath said as he wandered over to the King and the broken Prince. "I didn't care _who_ he was..."

Varian gazed at the elf, stunned by his words for a moment.

Sure, he knew that the Sin'Dorei were not like the other races of the Horde in more ways than one. He even knew a certain blood elf rogue rather well, and had fought beside the elves on more than one front. Despite all of that however, it was still an absolute surprise to see that not only was it a Blood Elf who had saved his son from certain death, but a Death Knight at that.

"... _Thank you._.. Thank you for saving my son..."

Wrath only nodded in response.

"I should go... I must speak with the Admiral to discuss a plan of action." Varian said as he pulled himself to his feet. Turning to Wrath he asked, "I assume you'll be staying?"

Wrath shrugged before walking back over to the corner, leaning against the wall once more. "Suppose so."

"Very well." Varian took one last fleeting glance at his crippled son before making his way to the door.

* * *

When Velen entered the room, he had honestly been expecting the worst for Anduin.

From the way that the Mage that had run up to him, ragged from running non-stop through the Exodar in search of him, had described the scene it would be a miracle if the boy would even still draw breath.

However when he finally did peer his aging head into the large open room, he found not a broken and bloody mess laying upon the floor, but a young man with little more than broken arms and legs, along with a few bruises peppered along his body.

His ribs seemed to be in perfect condition, despite his torn clothing, the prince's breathing as healthy as it possibly could be, and his head was absent of whatever gash had colored a majority of his hair blood red.

Finally there was the residual energy that hung in the air like the mist that would hang over the forests in the early morning. The pure graceful energy of the Light. Someone had been healing Anduin.

Finally, after scanning the room, Velen spotted what he presumed to be the culprit of the residual Light wafting throughout the structure. "You... Blood elf..."

"Hmm?" Wrath glanced over, his arms folded once more over his tabard, hiding the symbol of the Ebon Blade from the world.

"Your eyes... They carry the accursed mark of the Scourge..." Velen whispered as he hobbled over to the Blood Elf. With each and every step he took he became more and more certain. This elf was the conduit from which the Light had manifested itself.

"I already know that..." Wrath began, his voice dripping with sarcasm.. "What's your-..."

"Yet... The Light..." Velen interupted, the same naaru symbol appearing over his head as it did the Draenei who had stopped Wrath at the gate. "It has _not_ abandoned you..."

The room went silent for a moment as Wrath visibly tensed, glancing away from the prophet. "...I don't know what you're talking about..."

"The Prince... His wounds should have killed him long ago..." Velen pointed out, his own tone almost jovial, if such a thing were possible in a situation such as the one they had found themselves in. "And yet he lives!..."

Wrath sighed, letting his arms fall down to his sides. He had not expected the Draenei to catch on so quickly, though he should have expected it. He was the leader of the race that was arguably the most in tune with the Light than any other on Azeroth.

"I'm not a hero of the Light Velen... You should know that just by looking at me..." Wrath argued, though it was obvious that he had abandoned any hope of actually convincing the Draenei of what he was saying. "...I walked away from the Light a long time ago..."

"Not all who wander are lost..."

Silence passed over the room, save for the sound of shifting metal as Wrath squirmed uncomfortably in the prophet's scrutinizing gaze.

However, that scruitinizing gaze was soon replaced by a small smile as the old Draenei let out a soft laugh. "...Come my friend. I will need help resetting his bones into place."

Wrath said nothing in reponse, only obeying the prophet's request as the two knelt down next to Anduin.

* * *

- ** _Present Day_** -

"And thats how Wrath saved my life." Anduin finished as he watched as a massive smile of excitement began to creep onto Ruby's face. She had been pestering him nearly all day about how he and Wrath had met, and after about an hour of begging, Anduin had finally relented.

"That... Is... _AWESOME_!" Ruby squealed as she shook her arms around in the air, nearly falling off of Anduin's lap due to her erratic wriggling.

"Well I'm glad you think so." Anduin laughed as he brought Ruby more securly into his lap, wrapping both his arms around her waist. "Because it certainly wasn't very pleasant for me."

Ruby rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's words. "I just have one question though..."

"Hmm? What's that?"

"Why _Didn't_ you die from your wounds?" The reaper inquired, tilting her head in thought. "It sounds like they were pretty bad."

"Well I can never really be _sure_..." Anduin glanced over to the othre side of the castle's private garden to see a laughing Wrath holding a breaded piece of fish just out of Blake's reach as she jumped pathetically for the breaded treat while Yang recorded it on her scroll. "But personally... I think it had something to do with just a little bit of _faith_."


	20. Chapter 20: Why'd it Have to be Spiders?

**Well... I haven't updated this story collection in quite a while. Let's change that shall we? Next chapter for Broken Wings should be out relatively soon, but in the mean time here's something to keep you all satisfied!**

* * *

Spiders, Why'd it Have to be Spiders?

* * *

Deep in the eternally dusk covered lands of what was once the greater part of the majestic forests of Eversong, with only the occasional sounds of crows to show the forest was not completely dead, two figures knelt by a large cave, both covered by long black cloaks that bore the symbol of the Ebon Blade upon their backs.

"Wrath are you sure it's a good idea to be out in this part of the forest while its so dark out?" Blake asked as she watched the elven Death Knight work from under the hood of her cloak. Only a few hours beforehand, Wrath had awoken her from a particularly restful sleep, only saying that the two of them had to go out quickly to retrieve something important.

"Of course, I can't find what I'm looking for otherwise. It only appears early in the morning when there aren't too many travelers strolling around." He replied as he dug around a small hole around the size of the average persons head, occasionally pulling out various bits of brush and scraps, tossing them to the side before sticking his hand right back in the hole.

"Which reminds me, you never actually told me what we're out here to get.." Blake pointed out, watching as Wrath smirked in satisfaction, watching as he pulled a box out of his cloak with his free hand before stuffing...something into the open lid, which he closed almost just as quickly as it had been opened. "Care to fill me in?"

"Oh... You'll see."

* * *

A few hours later, in the gardens just behind Varimas' residence, the warlock in question let out a content sigh as he quietly read a book, lounging back in a chair while Yang, still bound in a chair, played fetch with Carcharoth.

Varimas glanced up at the two for a moment before letting a low chuckle reverberate in the back of his throat.

The two of them definitely seemed to be getting along. The demon was certainly thrilled to have a playmate. Usually at this time of the day Carcharoth would resign himself to a corner of Varimas' study before dozing off until dinner or until he felt like chasing the city guard around.

Yes, the peace was a nice change. A change Varimas could get used to.

Unfortunately, if Varimas was planning on soaking up the peaceful atmosphere any further, then he would be severely disappointed, for not a few seconds after glancing up from his book, a loud clatter rang out as Wrath flung open the small ornately decorated gate that separated the small garden Varimas kept from the rest of Silvermoon City. He was soon followed by Blake, who was carrying a rather large unmarked box in her hands, and judging by the face she was making as she carried it, she was none the wiser as to the contents than Varimas.

"We're back!" Wrath called out as he and Blake drew up to the Warlock, who's shoulders visibly slouched as he realized his peaceful morning had just come to what would no doubt be either horrifying or flat out violent end.

Not wanting to convey his France however, Varimas turning his head over towards the blue eyed elf and his Faunus companion. "It's about time. Where in the world did you two run off to so early? It's not even close to when you usually drag your lazy skull out of bed."

"Just to the forest. I just needed to grab something." Wrath replied cryptically.

"You know, you could've just as easily 'grabbed' at Blake's 'things' during the night. You're sleeping in the same room after all." The Warlock muttered, seemingly uninterested in whatever Wrath could possibly be planning.

"Firstly, I'm sleeping on the floor, she's the one sleeping in the bed _amni'rimaase_." Wrath spat as he turned to retrieved the unmarked box from Blake, holding it proudly in front of himself. "Second, I grabbed something for you."

"Oh? This should be entertaining." Varimas muttered, ignoring Wrath's rather crude insult in favor of watching as said elf plopped the box down on the table before his friend.

Yang and Carcharoth soon made their way over, their respective curiosities piqued, while Blake stood there and sighed. She had happened to sneak a peak into box while she and Wrath were heading back to Silvermoon, and knowing the content of said box made the twisting feeling in her gut that the whole situation would end horribly all the more powerful.

"Alright Varimas... Now answer me this... What are you most afraid of in this world?" Wrath asked with a smug expression on his face as Varimas leaned back in his lawn chair.

"Your need to swing sharp things around to compensate for something."

Wrath could only glare at his companion. "No."

"The thought of you actually succeeding in a social situation without either insulting someone of great societal standing or embarrassing yourself?"

"No Varimas..."

"Well there was that one time you accidentally covered Sylvanas in a barrel full of honey you were stealing when we were kids." Varimas chuckled, remembering that day well, in particular how fast Sylvanas had put the fear of the Titans in Wrath. "That was a pretty scary sight. She hunted you for Weeks."

"Just look in the damn box..."

Varimas gave a small sigh before his curiosity finally won out over his better judgment, prompting him to tentatively lean over to peer into the box.

That movement was that of a slug however compared to his next, as he suddenly lurched back, nearly falling over his chair in the process. " _WRATH_!"

"Spiders!" Wrath cheered and he threw his arms out to the his sides.

"Spiders?" Yang asked, peering over the edge of the box. True to Wrath's word, inside the box a large hairy spider around the size of her fist was looking back up at her, seemingly confused as to why it was there.

"GET THAT _THING_ OUT OF MY SIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Varimas ordered as he slowly backed away from the box, his fingers alight with green felfire that crackled brightly even in the early morning sunshine.

"Nope!" Wrath replied, taking a small lesson from Ruby in the hidden art of not so subtle denials. "See, I had this idea!"

"Oh fucking _Fantastic_!..."

"Glad you agree, so-..."

"I was being sarcastic you twit!"

"Shut up." Wrath reprimanded, half tempted to just throw the box at Varimas. "So as I was saying, since you've been afraid of spiders for as long as I can remember, so I thought 'Hey, why don't we cure Varimas of his fears'!"

Varimas watched with increasing trepidation as Wrath stuck his hand in the box, not breaking line of sight from the warlock, just in case he attempted to make a break for the garden gate.

"So here's what's going to happen. First person to remove their hand from the box gives the other about a hundred gold!" Wrath explained, ushering Varimas over with his free hand.

"A hundred gold?! Why would I put my hand in a box with a massive spider in it for a hundred gold?!" Varimas asked in utter disbelief, to which Wrath only adopted an irritated expression for a moment.

" _1000_..."

Suddenly, as if Wrath's increase in the bet was just enough to sway his fear, Varimas stiffened his shoulders before making his way over to the box. "Very well."

With that, the Warlock put his hand into the box without a hint of hesitation, never even breaking his gaze on the Death Knight before him.

As he stood there watching Varimas stick his hand into the box, Wrath couldn't help but overhear Yang and Blake snickering in the background but chose to ignore it for the sake of his own sanity. Those two probably just thought they were being strange or something.

"Well, that certainly made you change your mind quickly." Wrath asked with a smug smile on his face, though under that smug mask, the Death Knight couldn't seem to believe just how quickly Varimas had been swayed. "Did we finally find our courage there Varimas?"

"No, no." Varimas disagreed, propping his other hand against his hip and chuckling before speaking up once more. "The spider just tends to be a little less intimidating when it's crawling up your arm."

"Wait what?" Wrath darted his gaze to his arm, only to see the spider carefully crawling up the dark purple armor that covered the limb. " _SHIT_!"

Wrath quickly jumped back and began to flail his arm around as he attempted to remove the spider, firing off bolts of runic magic in every which way, nailing a few unlucky garden fixtures in the process.

Varimas was soon watching in glee, laughing as the Death Knight embarrassed himself in ways only he could. "That's what you-... Huh?..."

Both his laughter and joy vanished in an instant as Varimas suddenly felt a pretense on his arm. Without thinking, the Warlock glanced down and saw none other than another spider, almost just as large as the one clinging onto Wrath for dear life, halfway up his arm, it's beady eyes staring holes into his soul.

Silence passed over the garden for that one moment. The last moment of silence those gardens and the rest of the city would hear for the rest of the morning.

Varimas screamed.

* * *

"Ahh... You know Nathanos, there are days a small part of me misses these glorious streets." Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, sighed as she and an undead human strolled through the lush and brightly lit street of Silvermoon. She had been meaning to take a small vacation back in her homeland once relations between the Alliance and Horde had settled to an acceptable point.

"Of course M'Lady." Nathanos, the undead human that strode by her side, responded in a manner that would have been almost robotic had the small smirk not apprised on his face to accompany his words.

"It certainly seems more peaceful than when I was a child though..." Sylvanas muttered as she scanned around the city, though she couldn't be sure if she was really looking for something out of place or if she was just overwhelmed from all the recent political arrangements with the Alliance. "I can't... Quite place why however..."

As if on cue specifically to ruin the Banshee Queen's day, an explosion of Felfire suddenly blasted through the courtyard in which she and Nathanos stood, sending a few pieces of masonry surrounding the explosion to the ground, shattering as they impacted the pavement.

Sylvanas quickly drew her bow with practiced precision and nocked a black tipped arrow while Nathanos drew his two blades, both ready to face whatever had just eradicated half a city block.

Suddenly Wrath and Varimas came running by through the smoke of the explosion, blasting spells on themselves and each other, aiming for the spiders, which seemed to dodge every attack with ease.

"Oh... Right... _Those two_..." Sylvanas muttered in resigned frustration. Nathanos watched the display in absolute utter confusion while Sylvanas merely sighed and retrieved another arrow from her quiver, also nocking it on her bowstring.

Without another word she quickly yanked her bowstring back before taking aim, loosing the two arrows a moment later, nailing both spiders just as Wrath and Varimas launch spells at each other underneath a pillar, causing the roof to collapse on top of them in a loud cacophony of crumbling stone and Varimas' squeals of terror.

After a moment of silence after the dust settled Wrath dug himself out, also revealing a shivering Varimas, who was curled in a fetal position, his masked face darting around in every which direction, petrified another spider would make itself known and lodge itself on his mask.

"...Thanks Sylv..." Wrath muttered as he leaned against a particularly large section of broken pillar, picking out smaller pieces of shattered masonry from his rough ponytail, a scowl on his face.

"Spiders... Spiders... No... No more spiders..." Varimas muttered, still tucked away in his small foxhole made of stone, twitching erratically.

Sylvanas pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in exasperation once more before turning away from the scene, walking away with a confused Nathanos in tow, not even bothering to acknowledge that she knew the two destructive elves.

Once the two Forsaken leaders were long gone Blake finally appeared, running down the alley from which Wrath and Varimas had first reveal themselves from.

Spotting the two was almost too easy, and the moment she was over by Wrath"/ side, she knelt over and gave Wrath the patronizing look, the 'I told you so' expression written so clearly on her face that words weren't even necessary. Still though, she felt like this would be a good lesson for the elf. "I told you it wasn't a good idea..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Wrath went silent for a moment before glancing up at the Faunus, curiosity present in his gaze. "Hey, uh, Blake?"

"What?"

"Did you happen see who took their hand out first by any chance?"

Blake could only at Wrath for a moment before she slowly shook her head and brought herself to her feet, strolling away before Wrath even realized what she was doing.

"What?!... _Blake_?!" Wrath called out as he watched the Faunus vanished into one of the many in damaged alleyways that surrounded the courtyard. "Damn it."

"Wrath..." Varimas' voice echoed from his makeshift foxhole, causing the Death Knight to glance back in the direction of his companion.

"Hmm?"

"I take back what I said..."

"Take back what?"

"Spiders aren't the most terrifying thing in the world for me..." The Warlock coughed as he dragged himself from the wreckage of the once beautiful construction. "It's your feldamned plans..."

"Yeah..." Wrath agreed. "Yeah... Same here.."

* * *

 **Don't ask what Wrath said. It wasn't very nice.**


	21. Chapter 21: Son of the Wolf

**Okay! So I just read the recent webcomic that Warcraft put out about Anduin and I really couldn't stop myself from writing this in like half an hour... Which is a freakin' record by the way. So enjoy!**

* * *

Son of the Wolf

* * *

In the cold, dead night, in the normally magnificent city of Stormwind, not a soul stirred. The citizens of the kingdom, normally garbed in fantastic colors that illuminated the souls of those who wore them were now covered in black, as if a malicious tide had swept upon the city, drenching all it touched in darkness.

In that quiet, still city, in the war room of the castle of Stormwind, two young adults sat side by side, silently rereading the words on a scroll, which the man had clutched in his gloved hand, which shook even now as he read the words for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"Anduin?..." Ruby asked, reaching over to take the letter out of Anduin's grip. She had long ceased reading the letter and had instead been watching her love as he visibly struggled to keep his emotions in check.

As if sensing what she was about to do however, Anduin quickly shifted his hand away, causing Ruby to grab little more than air.

"I'm... Fine Ruby... I'll be fine... _Eventually_..." He muttered as he brought the scroll back down to eye level, resuming his seemingly infinite cycle of reading and rereading the words, as if silently begging fate to revoke its decision. To bring his father back.

Instead of the insistence that he was being stubborn that he had been expecting to hear from the reaper, he was instead greeted with the gentle touch of Ruby's hand sailing across his back.

It seemed like those few seconds were hours. His tired eyes had become so used to the words that adorned the parchment, it felt as if he was reading it entire sentences at a time.

This was it. These were the last words his father ever intended Anduin to hear from the one who he had idolized for so long. Part of him wanted to engrave the words into his mind, along with the lessons that were weaved between the lines.

And yet... Another part wanted nothing more than to forget.

Anduin was finally brought out of his self induced trance at the sound of the massive wooden door, only a few meters away, creaking open as a bearded guard slowly strolled in, only giving Ruby the simplest of nods to even acknowledge her presence. "My King, there is urgent news from the Broken Isles..."

"Good news I hope?" Anduin asked, not bothering to even glance up at the guard as he stalked over towards he and Ruby.

"Absolutely King Wrynn..." The guard replied cheerfully. "It seems that the war is _Over_..."

 _"Oh?"_

"...For _You_!"

It happened in a flash.

The dagger, laden with Fel energies being pulled out from under the guard's tabard, directed for the King's forehead. Anduin's hand as it shot out to seize the guard's wrist.

And unmistakable sound of Crescent Rose tearing it's way through both armor and flesh.

The guard looked down at his torso with eyes filled with shock as he watched as Ruby slowly pulled the blade of her scythe out of his torso, soon replaced by a surge of power, courtesy of Anduin, who rammed his fist into the guard, tearing away at his form, the Light shattering the armor around the man.

In the next few moments nearly a dozen guards filled into the room with their weapons drawn. "My King?! Are you injured?-..."

They had been expecting blood. They had expected to find the second ruler of their kingdom in only a month dead upon the ground. They had expected to find a sight which would bring none of them anything but sorrow.

Instead though, they were greeted with the sight of Anduin and Ruby standing with their weapons drawn, pointed at the throat of a Dreadlord, who was hanging from the ceiling in a web of energy that glowed a bright blue, illuminating the room in place of the candles that had been knocked over and snuffed out during the struggle.

"We are fine. Thank you." Anduin spoke up as he turned to face the guards, who all stared at the captive demon in a mix of horror and fascination. "Please, sweep the castle. Make sure he was working alone."

"But-..." The head guard started, only to silence himself when Anduin's face shifted into a glare.

"That's an order Captain Rivers... Leave us with this one."

"...Yes, King Wrynn..."

The guards filed out a moment later, almost every one taking a fleeting glance back into the room, terror written clearly in their expressions.

"Tell me, what did the Legion hope to achieve here?..." Anduin began as he directed Shalamayne at the Dreadlord's throat, with Crescent Rose not far behind. "The Alliance will not fall because one leader dies... Or even two."

"You're right. It will not..." The Dreadlord chuckled as he glanced past the two weapons, focusing instead on his intended assassination target. "It already _has_... The wolf is dead. Your 'Alliance' will soon join him."

"The wolf? My father?" Anduin was silent for a moment before he glanced back up, pushing the tip of Shalamayne ever closer to the demon's throat. "You clearly know nothing about our resolve..."

"We know Everything. About the Alliance. About 'The Wolf' Varian Wrynn. And about you, young King Anduin... And you are _Nothing_ like the Wolf. You never were..." The Dreadlord countered, a sick grin appearing on his face as his green eyes lit up in delight. "The Legion sees all..."

Anduin felt anger boil in his blood as the Dreadlord continued to speak, quite obviously unfazed by the weapons directed towards him.

"We saw how you failed him again and again. The Wolf expected to raise a mighty warrior, but instead he raised a _Runt_. A fool who dreamed of peace in a world that would Never see it... And worse, you made Him weak as well..." The Dreadlord explained, watching as doubt seemed to cloud Anduin's eyes for a brief moment. "You befriended his foes. You stood in his way... You _Leashed_ the Wolf..."

The Dreadlord felt the edge of the red hooded girl's scythe run along with back of his neck, tearing open his flesh slowly as she positioned herself to lop off his head at a moments notice.

He did not care however. His only focus was on the King. The King who stood, watching the demon with eyes that still held the slightest hints of doubt. Doubt it he planned to capitalize on.

"But now you've seen the truth. You traded words with warriors and nearly died for it. It's too late to learn your father's old ways. Even he fell before us, what hope do You have? War will only lead your Alliance to ruin Boy..." The Dreadlord exclaimed, bearing his fangs. "But there is another way. The way you have always sought... Peace..."

At that moment the Dreadlord noticed something shift within Anduin, though he could not place what it was. Thinking he was finally beginning to break through to the young King, the Dreadlord presented his ultimatum.

"You cannot fight and win. Let go of your pride, it will only destroy your people." The Dreadlord leaned forwards, nearly impaling himself on the tip of Anduin's sword. "Join with us... Your subjects will serve us well-..."

"You're right."

"What?" The Dreadlord faltered at the words of the King, who removed the tip of his blade from the Dreadlord's throat. Had it honestly been that easy?

"You're right... I am a man of peace." Anduin muttered as he turned and placed the sword of his father on the table, taking only a moment to glance over at Ruby, who's position had not faltered. And neither had her spirit. "And the Wolf is gone forever... We are the Light that remains..."

"And we..." Anduin began as he felt the light building up in his palm, the raw power sparking violently as it began to form a hammer of Light, which Anduin grasped before spinning around to face the demon. "Will **Finish** **This**!"

The last sensation that the Dreadlord would ever feel on the mortal plane was of agony as Anduin's hammer tore through his demonic armor, setting his flesh alight, and sending him back reeling into the Twisting Nether.

It was silent for what felt like an eternity. Only the remnants of the Dreadlord's body cracking and burning in the darkness of the war room could be heard.

Anduin only watched for a moment as the Dreadlord faded from existence, turning to retrieve his father's letter once he was sure that the Dreadlord was no more.

He glanced down to resume his cycle of reading, but was stopped as two pale hands were laid atop his own, causing him to glance up to meet the silver eyes of his love.

"He's wrong you know Anduin... We can get through this..." Ruby whispered as she stared into the eyes of the King. "We will win..."

"...I know..."

The two left hand in hand a moment later, leaving the Dreadlord's caracas to burn into nothing more than ash, silently carried away by the winds, accompanying the dim light of dawn as the sun began to appear over the horizon...


	22. Chapter 22: Tall Tales

**Alright! Here's a quick little oneshot for you all! The sequel for Broken Wings is well underway in the planning stage, and the first chapter should be hitting the site in about a month or so, once we all have had time to acclimate to Legion both in story and content! For now though, I shall keep you all sated through oneshots! Onwards!**

* * *

"...-And that's how we saved Halfhill Village!" Wrath gleefully exclaimed with pride swelling his tone as he crossed his arms and grinned triumphantly at the two girls sitting in front of him.

Blake and Yang sat across from the elf, both looking bored out of their skulls with the story. Even Blake, who was usually more than eager to hear a tale of Azeroth, had instead tuned out the words of the Death Knight, her nose buried in a book instead.

"Don't forget about our lack of reinforcements." Varimas, who was seated next to Wrath, added.

"Oh yeah, how long did it take before they arrived?"

"I believe the villagers and us held the town for...a week or so before reinforcements arrived." Varimas replied as he rhythmically tapped his finger against the wooden surface of the pub table, as if counting out the days of the story with each tap of his index finger.

"Oh, yeah, yeah..." Wrath muttered in agreement as the memories flooded back to him before he turned back to Blake and Yang with the same cheesy grin before on his face. "But that's how we did it!"

Silence passed over the pub table at that moment, save for the seemingly faraway sounds of merriment roaring around them in a never ending echo.

Eventually, after hearing not even a soft clap in reverence to his amazing storytelling, Wrath opened one of his eyes to see the unamused faces of Blake and Yang staring back at him.

"...What?"

"Oh nothing!... It's just _So_ amazing how you and Var are somehow always able to pull off all these fantastic things in these stories your telling." Yang spoke up as she waved her arms dramatically around in the air.

"They aren't stories!..." Wrath spat as he straightened up into the chair. "This stuff actually happened."

"Right. Sure."

Wrath glared daggers at Yang as he let out a low growl.

"I think what Yang is trying to say," Blake interpreted, hoping to quell an argument before it could begin. "Is that it's hard for us to believe that you two were involved in all of these different crises and somehow got through them all without a scratch."

"Oh come on Blake, not you too!... All this stuff is true!" Wrath exclaimed before laying his face in his palm. "Azeroth is just... A really weird place sometimes..."

" _Right_ , okay." Yang huffed.

At Yang's quip Wrath nearly jumped out of his chair. She was being more confrontational than usual today... "Listen, get it in your head, we did this stuff, whether or not you want to believe us so just-..."

"I'll bet we could find someone ten times more heroic than you two combined just by walking down the street!" She brawler yelled suddenly, showing less restraint than the Death Knight by shooting up onto her feet.

"Yang, don't be ridiculous."

"Okay, you don't believe me?" Yang muttered before the mental lightbulb seemed to appear over her head. With a snap of the fingers she continued, "We'll make a deal then!"

"A deal?"

"Yep! If we can find someone that we can prove to be more heroic than you two then..." Yang scanned both Wrath and Varimas up and down for any visible reaction before a glimmer came into her eyes when she noticed both elves squirming subtly. "You'll have to.. You'll have to... Blake, what do they have to do?"

"There was this book series a gnome was selling earlier that looked good..."

"Alright! If we win you have to buy us that book-..." Yang hesitated as she turned to Blake. "Wait, seriously? That's all you want?"

Blake only shrugged in response.

"Weirdo... Fine. But I want money or something." Yang said, turning to the two elves, her hand outstretched and a calm but confident smirk across her face. "We have a deal frosty?"

Wrath growled loudly at the impromptu pet name, grabbing Yang's hand and giving it a firm shake, making sure to leave a thin layer of frost attached to her skin. "Oh, we've got a deal alright."

"Great!" Yang cheered, clenching her fist and shattering the ice around her palm effortlessly, much to the chagrin of the elf in front of her. "Come along Blake! Time to show these two a Real hero!..."

Blake gave a soft sigh before she stood, silently trailing the blonde brawler out of the room.

Once the two huntresses were truly well and gone Varimas turned to Wrath, his head tilted. "Are you sure it's alright to let them do this?"

"It'll be fine." Wrath answered, the annoyance in his face still clear.

"But what if they run into-..."

"They won't run into him!..."

"If you say so..."

* * *

As Yang and Blake strolled down the street the former couldn't help but to begin to believe that perhaps the bet she had made with Wrath had been a hasty one.

So far all they had found was a depressed looking human with ginger hair in black armor that had a few to many bruises littered across his body and a night elf who sounded less than down to earth. The moment they walked up to the elf he immediately began spouting Darnassian in such a way that even Blake looked as if she was about ready to resort to violence in order to silence him.

"Alright.. Heroic... Heroic... Someone heroic looking..."

She huffed as she continued scanning the crowd. No one seemed to be particularly heroic. Sure, there were dozens of men and women in various flavors of armor and robe, yet not many of them looked particularly heroic, and those who did looked less than approachable.

After a good while Yang started to realize that she was hearing nothing from Blake, and upon turning around found the Faunus with her nose buried in a leather bound book, obviously completely uninterested in the bet she had been forced into.

"Hey! A little help here?!..."

"Mm?" Blake glanced up from her book before scanning the area, pointing in one direction, over towards a small corner next to the edge of the canals. "What about that guy?"

Yang followed the direction her friends finger, soon spotting a solitary dwarf clad from head to toe in dark blue Ebon Blade plate. He seemed to possess no weapon, though that did little to detract from his menacing appearance.

However Yang seem unfazed by it all. "Perfect! Let's go!"

She quickly seized Blake by the wrist, dragging her over towards the dwarf, who still hadn't seemed to notice the presence of the two, even as they drew closer. "Heelllooo, sir we-..."

"Oh my goodness!"

"Whoa!..." Yang nearly jumped back at the sudden outburst from the dwarf, though she was able to recover rather quickly. Years of scaring the life out of Jaune had built up a barrier to overdramatize reactions. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare-..."

Before Yang could even finish her apology, the dwarf was on her, assaulting her verbally before she could register what was happening. "Every time I walk into this _stupid_ city I get bothered by complete wretches like the two of you, who think they're good enough to speak to the likes of me!"

"Wait wha?!..."

"Back when I joined the army everything was so much harder for us! Nowadays rewards are just given to you because High Command is so lazy! I'll bet the two of you have never even seen a real battle!"

"Battle? _High command_? What?"

Realizing that he had at that point only directed his verbal strikes towards the blonde girl, the dwarf turned his attention to the black haired girl, who had since begun to read her book once more. "Hey ugly, get your face out of that book and listen to me!"

Blake shot her gaze up as her ears folded back, her Amber eyes shining with surprise and sadness. "... _Ugly_?..."

" _Hey_!" Yang cried out, gritting her teeth. "Don't talk to my friend like that you-..."

"Oh?! And what're you gonna do about it?" The Dwarf interrupted, stepping towards Yang, who could only step back as the Death Knight advanced. "I bet you can barely even stand up straight with those on your chest, much less fight!"

Yang glanced down before letting out a low growl. "Leave my chest out of this!"

"I think you mean the bags of _fat_!"

"That-... What the hell is wrong with you?!" She yelled, covering her chest with her arms as she turned most of her body away from the dwarf. "We only wanted to ask you a ques-..."

"What the hell is wrong with me?! What the hell is wrong with you more like!" The Dwarf spat viciously, spittle nearly landing on Yang's back. "I don't have time to talk to Inspector Blondie and her stupid cat eared freak of a sidekick!"

Blake felt her eyes water as she brought her book back up to her face, hiding the tears that were beginning to form.

Unfortunately her attempt to hide her tears did nothing to stop the dwarf from noticing them. "Wow, you started crying so quickly! Learn to deal with the truth! What? Is it hard to hear how insignificant you are?!"

Yang clenched her fists and stepped forwards, ready to speak up again, only to have the dwarf hold up a hand, cutting her off before she could even begin.

"Don't ever even think about talking to me again you low life maggots! You complete wastes of lives! I've seen rodents with more potential than you two and I-..."

* * *

"I'm just saying that those reagents would do nothing but cause chaos if moxed together..." Varimas muttered as he stared at Wrath from behind his Felfume mask, leaning his head against his hand.

"Says the one who accidentally sent me to another world." Wrath muttered in response.

"Hey, to be fair I-..."

All of a sudden, without any sort of warning to prepare the two elves for what was to come, Blake and Yang suddenly burst into the room, both looking as if they had just been through a war.

Their eyes were red with tears, their limbs were shaking, and neither looked as if their stomaches had a particularly secure grip on their lunches.

In short, they looked like hell.

Blake was quick to abandon her book at the entrance of the room before making her way over in order to leap into Wrath's lap, mewling pathetically as Wrath stared at her like she had just grown a second head.

Yang also made her way over to the elves, albeit at a much slower pace, before plopping herself next to Varimas' chair, visibly shivering. "No more... No more... No more..."

Wrath and Varimas could only glance over at one another before both uttered in unison with accompanying chuckles, "They met him."

* * *

 **And there we go! I know it was a short one, but another will be out tomorrow. It will be much more story heavy, and with a much darker tone (because, y'know, we all love that sort of thing, right?). This was essentially just meant to be the 'spot the references' chapter! (Bonus points if you can figure out all the characters!) Until next time!**


	23. Chapter 23: Requiem of the Wolf

**Well life certainly got in the way there. Sorry about delaying this chapter, but here it is for you all now! This is a lot more depressing than my normal oneshots, so just be prepared for that. This is the 'origin' story for Ravarth, so if you'd like to know the reason this grump is mad all the time then this is the chapter for you!**

* * *

Requiem of the Wolf

* * *

Ravarth couldn't keep the glare off of his face as he stomped down one of the many hallway in Stormwind castle, quite obviously uninterested in what was happening around him.

Around halfway down the hall he ended up passing Ruby, who gave the Worgen a small smile and a wave, only to then shrink away when she noticed the look of barely restrained aggression written on his face.

Only a few moments later the wolf noticed Blake trying to sneak past him without being seen, sneaking behind plant pots and ornaments. Despite her attempts to be sneaky however Ravarth found it almost irritatingly annoying just how much she was giving herself away.

Even Yang seemed nervous when they passed each other, the blonde taking extra precaution to make sure that she was clear on the other side of the hallways when the two crossed paths.

Eventually, with trepidation written clear on their faces, a small host of three guards walked up to the Worgen, stopping just short from smacking face first into the lupine warrior's breastplate.

It was a good chunk of his new squad. After a majority of his old one had been wiped out during the invasion of Remnant, aside of course from Weiss and Rvarth himself, High Command saw fit to stick a new bunch of recruits under the Worgen's command.

Recruits who, evidentially, did not yet know of his famous temper.

"Ravarth, sir!" The leading guard saluted as he held out a small stack of papers towards the Worgen, who only eyed them warily. "We've just finished the design on the new training regiment and we just need-..."

"If you're finished then why're you coming to me about it, soldier?..." Ravarth growled as he bore his teeth to the young man, causing the young man to quickly rethink his approach to the situation, along with his quickly fleeing confidence.

"W-well sir, since you're the squad leader we need to get your final say on the plan before we go ahead with it so if you could just-..."

"I don't need to look at it. As long as it doesn't kill any of you louts than I couldn't care less right about now..." Ravarth interrupted before standing at his full height, his eyes trained on the now nervous faces of all three recruits. "Now move. That's an order..."

"Y-yessir..."

The recruits quickly moved to the side, letting Ravarth pass.

Once he was out of sight from the small group the Worgen sighed before quickly turning out of the hallway, into a smaller corridor, at the end of which lay a small doorway.

The Worgen stared at the old doorway with a hint of trepidation, pausing for a moment to stare at the doorknob before reaching out and pulling the door open, revealing a small dusty bedroom.

Ravarth glanced around the small lodging with a hint of disgust. The place hadn't been cleaned in months. Perhaps even a year or two.

It was supposed to be his residence. Where he would live when not out on campaign or actively training soldiers in different sections of the kingdom. Not the small townhouse that he ended up staying in while in the city.

He couldn't stay here though.

Not while 'it' was here.

Silently, the Worgen strolled over to edge of the room where, by a wall, a small chest lay. With shaking fingers Ravarth undid the latch before slowly prying the lid of the container open, covering his nose with his free hand when a small cloud of dust assaulted him from inside of the box.

After a moment he reached inside and pulled out a small object covered in a thick dark blue cloth.

Saying nothing, the Worgen slowly unwrapped the cloth away from the object revealing it to the world.

The small stuffed wolf that haunted his very being.

The last requiem of his past.

* * *

"Thomas! Thomas! Look what mum got me at the market today!" A small girl with a gilnean accent cried out as she hobbled hurriedly into her family's living room, where a boy with reddish blonde hair peered up from a small book.

He watched with a worried glint in his eyes as the girl, who was keeping herself upright on little more than frail limbs and a walking stick, attempted to make her way over to him.

"Hm? What is it Milly?" The boy, Thomas, smiled watching as the frail little girl shuffled her way over to him, holding up a small cardboard box, no larger than a hearthstone, holding it out in front of her towards the older boy.

"Tarot cards! A nice woman who lives in the forest sold them to her for only a few silver!" She exclaimed, holding up the box of cards proudly, as if she was holding aloft a long forgotten treasure, previously lost to time.

"A few silver? That's not exactly cheap for tarot cards." Thomas chided in a good natured tone, giving the girl a knowing look.

"Oh yes it is! Because guess what?" Milly said before limping over to Thomas' side, whispering in his hear, "Mum says they're enchanted!..."

"Ahh, alright." Thomas relented before glancing at the girl's arms, empty save for the deck of cards in her hands. Where was?-... "I thought she was out to get your stuffed friend repaired though."

"She was!"

Thomas stared blankly at Milly for a moment before laughing. She was nothing if not honest. "That's fair enough then."

Milly laughed along as Thomas placed his hand on the girls head, rubbing the thin strands of white hair that covered her scalp, letting the thin strands run between his fingers before fluttering back down past the girls shoulders.

When Milly had first come into the world, she had done so with what the villagers believed to be a curse upon her.

She had exited the womb severely underweight, with not a peep to be heard from her weakened lungs, with hair as white as bone that grew in place of the reddish blonde hair that the rest of her family shared.

If it had not been for the help of the nearby church, Milly would have most certainly died at birth. But in the end she had been saved, the priests refusing to let her die just because she was born weak, though cursed with a frail body for what would no doubt be her entire life.

Thomas just had to wonder... Which path was truly the cruel one? In the end which fate was honestly worse? Dying before you even knew what it was to live, or go through life knowing you could never be anything more than a burden.

"Say, why don't we give those tarot cards a shot?" Thomas suddenly spoke u, realizing that he had been silent for s good while, with Milly staring at him quizzically. "Tell me my future."

"Okay!" Milly exclaimed happily before adopting serious face which barely hid the excitement that swam under it. "Sit, stranger, and I shall tell you the tale of your future..."

Thomas only chuckled and sat back down on the couch, watching as Milly systematically laid out a small collection of cards in front of them both in a facedown position.

However, just as she was about to place the rest of the stack on the table she was suddenly overtaken by a small coughing fit, forcing her to drop the cards in a small pile on the ground.

Thomas was on the floor a moment later, hastily gathering up the cards while Milly recovered from her coughing fit. It was quite a common occurrence, seeing as how Milly's lungs were still extremely weak, even after being alive for a decade.

Thanks to that however, neither noticed as a faint white glow encompassed the surface of the cards for only a moment, fading just as fast as it had appeared.

Once the cards had been gathered back up and Milly had recovered from her coughing fit, both brother and sister reassumed their positions on either side of the table, with Milly standing proudly over the three facedown cards that lay before her.

"First up!" She said before reaching down, flipping a card over as she and Thomas both glanced down to get a better look at what would be revealed.

The illustrated image of a dark haired wolf standing on its hind legs with bright yellow eyes stared back at them, the pupils of the humanoid wolf boring into their souls as they gazed at the drawing. What was most haunting however was the layer of what was obviously meant to be blood that coated the wolf's fur.

"Huh... I'm not sure what a wolf that's covered in blood means..." Milly mittered as she stared down at the card. "Maybe it means you'll be really fierce and awesome when you get older! Like all the royal guards!"

"Perhaps I will. I doubt it though. I just want to be a merchant when I come of age." Thomas admitted bashfully, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I've never really liked the idea of fighting all that much."

Milly giggled before reaching for the next card. "Next up!"

She flipped it face up to reveal the symbol of a great golden lion with a blue background covering the rest of the card face.

"...A lion?"

"Huh... I've never heard of a golden lion before."

"You know... I used to hear all the grown ups who take care of me talking about another kingdom when they thought I wasn't listening." Milly suggested, thinking back to how hushed the nurses always seemed when discussing it. "They had a big golden lion!"

"Really?" Thomas asked, staring at the symbol with interest. "I wonder why it shows up in my future?..."

"That's so cool! Maybe you'll get to see that faraway kingdom someday!"

Thomas couldn't help but to smile like a goof at the thought of leaving the walls of the Gilnean kingdom one day. "I sure hope so."

"Alright! Last one!" Milly reached over and flipped over the final card. "It's a-... Huh?..."

"It's... A mirror?..." Thomas asked, staring as the glasslike surface of the face of the card in confusion.

Milly picked up the card and stared into it, a perplexed eyebrow raised. Her reflection gazed back at her, without even the bendable nature of the card causing the image to distort. "Weird... How does a card have a mirror inside of it?..."

Thomas shrugged before taking the card from Milly's hand.

"Well you did say mother bought them on the streets.. Perhaps they just-..." Thomas cut himself off as he glanced into the mirror.

Staring back at him, to the horror of the boy, was the image of a humanoid wolf, fangs bared as it stared at him with piercing yellow eyes.

Thomas immediately yelled out in surprise, tossing the card onto the table as he shot from his chair, his breathing ragged as his mind attempted to process what it had just witnessed.

"Thomas?!" Milly yelled concerned for her brothers sudden reaction to the card. "What's wrong?!"

Thomas did not answer, merely reaching for the card once more, apprehensive to see those eyes staring back at him again. However when he did finally find the courage to gaze into the mirror once more, he saw only his own reflection, sweat drenching his forehead.

"...Thomas?..." Milly asked cautiously, reaching out towards her brother carefully. "Did you see something?..."

"Don't worry about it Milly... I-... I just hope that at least some of what you've predicted is true. I'd definitely love to see the world." Thomas deflected, placing the card back onto the table. "But I guess we'll just have to see if those cards really do have powers..."

Which they didn't.

They couldn't...

After all, he had just imagined those piercing yellow eyes... Right?...

* * *

"Children! Supper!" A middle aged woman with greying hair called out towards the hallway as she finished setting up a small meal on a quaint dining table that had been lovingly crafted out of wood.

"Coming mother!"

A few moments later both children appeared at the doorway, Thomas helping Milly through the kitchen, lifting her onto her chair before pushing her in. She chirped a quick 'thank you' in response before lifting up her knife and fork, ready to devour the first piece of food placed in front of her.

When he was sure she was situated, Thomas took his own seat and watched as his mother handed Milly a small object wrapped carefully in a dark blue cloth. "Here you go dear, I suspected you would want to have your friend before we started supper tonight."

"Yay!" Milly squealed, dropping her knife and fork in favor of frantically unwrapping the cloth, pulling out a stuffed wolf toy, hugging it lovingly the moment the cloth fell away from its form. "Ravarth!"

Thomas smiled as he watched Milly hug her beloved stuffed animal. That toy was a major source of her strength. More than any priest's spell or well wisher's words.

She may have been cursed with a weak exterior, but she was born with a wolf's heart. Of that at least, Thomas was sure.

"Now that he's all better, no one will ever be able to take him down!" Milly cheered loudly as she hugged the toy one last time before a large plate food was gently placed before her by her mother, causing the young girl to visibly drool almost immediately.

"I'm sure they won't dear. Now let's get him off the table." Their mother said as Milly nodded and placed the stuffed wolf onto her lap with a smile, digging into her food.

* * *

Burning.

That was the only sensation that Thomas could feel burning through his muscles as he and his family ran through one of the many winding alleyways of the Gilnean capital, desperately attempting to make their way to the edge of town so that they could escape into the open countryside, where they could take shelter.

Seemingly overnight, as if a switch had been flipped, a strange curse had suddenly begun to ravage the populace.

It started with the death of a civilian here or there. Certainly alarming, but nothing worth worrying over for the average man or woman living in Gilneas.

But then it happened. Only hours later bodies seemed to be turning up everywhere, their flesh torn from their bones, their skulls crushed by what could only be described as jaws of a great beast.

And that 'great beast', Thomas suspected, he had met.

After being given the order to evacuate Thomas had volunteered to travel down into the nearby food storage rooms to grab some rations that could sustain he and his family for the next few days.

Unfortunately while he was down there scrambling for supplies he had been unlucky enough to come across a creature. A creature that Thomas could only describe as a horrific beast. And that beast had done quite a number to his upper arm with its teeth.

Thankfully before any real damage could be done, past the bite he had received, Thomas had been able to grab the ration bag he was after and scarper out of the room, the creature hot on his heels, only stopped by the metal reinforced door that Thomas had slammed in its way.

However, just as Thomas and the other two members of his family were finally able to see the alleyway that would lead into a clearing that would grant access to the countryside, they attacked.

The first few seconds of seconds of the confrontation seemed to pass as quick as lightning.

Thomas had not even noticed the men following them until he felt the butt of a game hunting rifle slamming into the back of his head, sending him sprawling onto the ground with an indignant grunt.

Their mother was quick to response, attempting to grab one of the bandits guns as she screamed at both Milly and Thomas to run.

Unfortunately another bandit was quick to react to the sudden fight being put up by the woman, slamming the butt of his own rifle against the back of her head, splitting the back of her head open.

Her limp form flopped uselessly on the ground a moment later, her empty eyes facing her children, who could both only watch in speechless horror as one of the bandits pressed the barrel of his rifle against the mothers head.

He pulled the trigger.

Milly immediately let out a toe curling scream whole Thomas scrambled to his feet, lifting her up into his arms before making a break for the clearing, only to end up on the ground once more a few moments later when another bandit caught him and tackled him to the ground.

The force of the impact caused Thomas drops Milly, who also accidentally lost her grip on her wolf, the stuffed animal tumbling to the ground beside her crumpled form which twitched violently.

As the man who tackled Thomas leapt back to his feet another one of the bandits strolled over and slammed his foot against Thomas' shoulder blades, pinning him to the ground.

Once he was sure that the other man had Thomas pinned, the final marauder, seemingly the leader of the gang, pulled out a large knife from his waistband before kneeling down next to Milly, yanking her head back at an unnatural angle

Milly could only stare at Thomas with horror in her gaze as the edge of the knife ran along her throat, opening it to the world.

Thomas screamed loudly in protest, pushing the bandit that had been standing on him off him scrambling over to Milly while the thieves turned their attention to both the bags the family had been carrying, along with whatever they could find on the corpse of their mother.

Thomas paid them no mind however, instead bringing Milly into his arms as he pressed his hand against her neck, desperately attempting to stop the bleeding.

But after a few moments, when Thomas' hand had been stained completely red, all he could do was look up at Milly's face as she gave him one last weak smile before she faded away, the last shreds of her life ebbing away from the wound in her neck.

Thomas gazed down at the ground with tears clouding his vision as his breathing began to grow ragged. Every muscle in his body burned, crying out to be used. His mouth felt dry, and his eyes scratchy.

And then, as if fate felt as if he deserved one final cruel joke, through his tears he saw it. The stuffed wolf, Ravarth, with Milly's blood steadily dripping onto the toy from her neck, coating its fur blood red.

It was silent then. Not even the usual somber crowing of the ravens could be heard.

Realizing that their last victim had gone silent, one of the bandits turned his attention away from the loot they had been gathering, strolling over to Thomas with his rifle in hand, ready to finish off their last witness.

However at that moment, once the bandit had drawn close, Thomas turned his gaze up, causing the bandits recoil in surprise.

Thomas' eyes were glowing a sickly yellow.

"Wh-what the hell?! What-..." The bandit closest to Thomas was cut off as he was suddenly grabbed by his head, flailing helplessly as Thomas pulled himself up and sunk his teeth deep into the thief's neck, ripping away the flesh with his teeth.

The other bandits quickly drew their weapons as the horrified scream of their companion filled the air, along with the sound of tearing flesh as Thomas bit down once more, tearing the man's throat away from the rest of his neck.

"This kid's insane!"

"Put him down! The bastard got Reginald!"

However before any of them could think to fire every bone in their bodies seemed to freeze when a low growl passed into their ears, emanating from the blood covered young man that stood before them.

Thomas suddenly hunched over violently as the bandits watched in terrified fascination, listening as the bones in the boy's body began cracking and snapping, as if rearranging themselves inside of his body.

Eventually, as the bandits continued to stare as if in a trance, a dark aura surrounded Thomas, winds rushing past as they were blinded by a torrent of dust that surrounded the young man in a blinding sheet of dirt and fog.

And then it began.

The blood.

The desperate pleas for mercy.

The cracking of bones.

The tearing of flesh.

The echoing howl in the night.

The vengeance of a forlorn soul...

* * *

Thomas stood before a recruiter, his monotone colored Gilnean armor loudly shifting as the Worgen stood at attention, watching carefully as the dwarf in golden armor silently wrote down various pieces information on a large ledger in front of him.

As the recruiter continued to jot down what seemed like a novel, Thomas took a moment to idly glance up at the grand statue that stood proudly before him.

The golden statue of a lion.

He had made his way here to Stormwind after Gilneas had fallen.

He had been lucky enough to be found along with the other Gilneans by the Night Elves, who had helped in restoring his sanity along with a potion that Krennan Aranas had concocted.

Unfortunately, while his sanity had been restored, his memory was not so lucky. While he was able to remember the bite that had caused transformation along with the vague remembrance of fleeing the city, he could not for the life of him remember the exact details of what happened that night.

Eventually though he had been told by another Worgen that he had most likely ended up murdering his family. Quite a bit of the population had died in such a way. Killed by those that they had loved.

It had been difficult to accept, almost impossible even, though the evidence pointed to no other conclusion. As far as he, and anyone else, would ever be able to guess, he had been the one who had slaughtered his family.

He had been the one to take Milly's life.

All that was left was the blood covered wolf that she had loved so dearly.

"And your name?" The recruiters words snapped Thomas out of his self induced trance. He glanced down at his paws for a moment, his long clawed fingers clenched into fists.

After a moment of silence he glanced up at the recruiter.

"Ravarth, sir..."

"Ravarth, eh? Alright then." The recruiter nodded, jotting down the name into the ledger laying before him. "Last name?"

"...No." Ravarth muttered in reply.

"Eh?" The recruiter asked as he chuckled softly. "I must've misheard you, I thought you said you-..."

"Don't have a last name..." Ravarth clarified, his face betraying no emotion. "...She never gave me one..."

Those words alone caused the recruiter to halt his quill and look up at the Worgen, only to let that quill dip down as he realized just what sort of recruit he was gazing upon.

He recognized the look in the Worgen's eye instantly. He'd seen it so many times before. It was a look that he knew all too well, and seen in too many faces.

It was the look of loss.

"Aye... Very well... Ravarth it is..." The recruiter whispered before standing and holding out his hand, which Ravarth took, giving it a solid shake.

"Welcome to the Alliance..."

* * *

Ravarth sighed as he turned the stuffed toy upside down and pulls out a small card lodged in an open section that had been haphazardly sewn into the stomach of the plushie.

It was the mirror tarot card that he had gazed into all those years ago. He had been carrying it when the city had been evacuated. He had always been so curious as to what he had seen that night when he first gazed into the card.

And now that he knew, there were days that he would wish for nothing more than to go back to his life of ignorant bliss.

But it was impossible now. Those days were gone.

"I'm sorry Milly... But Thomas died on that hill with you..."

He gazed into the card, seeing not a surprising sight that caused him to jump back. No. Now all he saw was his own reflection.

The reflection of a wolf. A _monster_.

"I'm so glad," Ravarth whispered, "You can't see what I've become..."


	24. Chapter 24: Alone

**Hey! Really quick Oneshot focused on everyone's favorite Pyro! It's a short one, that's for sure, but I think it gets its point across, not to mention has quite a bit of significance in upcoming events if you squint! Not too much to say other than that, so enjoy!**

* * *

Alone

* * *

Cinder was alone.

She had always been alone. Alone as a young child, a child who had never known the joy of friendship or love. Alone when she grew into the woman she had become, the paragon of darkness that her former mistress had molded her into. At no point in her life had she ever escaped the clutches of loneliness.

And that's just the way she liked it.

She always knew that she would stand alone. Even if she surrounded herself with an army of loyal subjects, willing to die for her at a moments notice, instead of the ragtag group of petty criminals and terrorists she had been able to recruit, she would still stand along at the end of the day.

She had accepted that the moment that she had first realized her destiny, to the day that it had been taken from her by Ozpin and his students.

Oh how happy they had been when she fell to them. How joyous their smiles were as she, along with Mercury and Emerald, were dragged away to rot in a small cell for what would have no doubt been the rest of their solitary existence.

When was the last time she, Cinder, had smiled? A genuine smile that hadn't been forced onto her face for the sake of appearance.

She wasn't sure. But it didn't matter. Smiling was merely an involuntary show of weakness. She had no reason to smile. No desire.

And that was just the way she liked it.

"Cinder..." A voice echoed behind the young woman in question, the words slipping into the air like the subtle hiss of a snake ready to pounce upon its unsuspecting prey.

Cinder's eyes averted from the sight she had locked into her gaze for what seemed like the last few hours at the sound of the voice, turning to face an Eredar Sorceress, staring at her in what seemed to be barely restrained disgust.

"What is it?"

"Gul'dan has ordered you report to him for your daily Fel-infusion."

"Oh, he has now, has he?..." Cinder whispered, taking a moment to glance back at what she had been fully focused upon only momets before.

"Yes... That he has." The Eredar snapped her fingers, prompting two rather large felguards appear from behind the large doorway, brandishing axes that appeared as if they could cleave an Atlesian Paladin with little to no effort. "Is that a Problem?..."

Cinder said nothing, only continuing to stare at the objects of her attention.

"Lord Gul'dan let you keep those disgusting cadavers of yours as a show of generosity." The Eredar muttered, realizing exactly what Cinder was focusing so intently on in the darkened room. "We wouldn't want to take Advantage of that generosity, would we?..."

"No," Cinder sighed as she pulled herself to her feet. "We wouldn't..."

With that, she silently backed away from the two fresh corpses that laid before her, preserved only by the perverse Fel magics that Cinder perpetually pumped into them in an effort to sustain them as long as she could.

The corpses of the only two people that she had ever thought of as friends.

The Eredar wasted no time in fastening magical restrains around her wrists without another word, binding Cinder's arms tightly behind her back before leading her quickly out of the room, leaving the corpses of the two teenagers laying out, with only a faint light to illuminate the emotionless expressions they carried.

Yes, Cinder thought as she was led out of the room, there was no doubt...

She was alone.

No one who she had ever called 'ally' remained by her side.

The only friends she had ever had were dead.

In the end even her 'oh so beloved' Mistress had left her to her fate at the hands of the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Beacon.

It was only her.

But... That was just the way she liked it...


	25. Chapter 25: Hallow's End

**Happy Halloween! You know, it's now officially been a year since I've started writing on this site, and I thought I'd make sure that I have a chapter out there to celebarate that! So here it is! Have a happy Hallow's End everybody! Hope you got your Horseman's Reins!**

* * *

Hallow's End

* * *

 _"I fought for you... I fought in vain... Now scatter, scurry, shriek in pain! No mercy on this night abides, on Hallow's End, when the Horseman rides!..." - Sir Thomas, The Headless Horseman_

* * *

Varimas, Ravarth, and Wrath all stared blankly in their drinks, each listening to the surrounding chattering occurring around them as the three sat at a small table in the corner of the Goldshire Inn, various off duty soldiers and adventurers milling about around them.

"Hey guys?" Wrath finally spoke up.

"Hmm?" Varimas hummed, glancing up from his drink.

"You ever get the feeling somethings not quite right with this inn?"

"What're you on about?" Ravarth spat out before taking a long swig of his ale, grimacing slightly at the bitter flavor. Even after years of drinking the stuff he still couldn't stomach it's taste.

"I'm not sure... I just feel like I need a scrub down whenever I've been in here."

Varimas shrugged, leaning his elbows against the table. "You're probably just paranoid."

"Yeah, yeah you're right..."

A moment later, a loud crash suddenly echoed outside of the room, causing everyone in the inn to jump at the sound. Several paintings in the bar area were launched off of the wall at the impact, with most, aside from one that struck an unlucky gnome, bouncing harmlessly off the floor.

Several soldiers glanced at each other in confusion as they all seemed to silently debate whether or not to go and check it out, or to remain in their ignorant state for as long as possible.

Ravarth was the first in the crowd to finally speak up. "What in the hell was-..."

"Ruby, you brainless baboon! When you said 'take us to the inn' I didn't think you'd actually slam us into the side of the building!... No, sorry isn't enough, look at my hair!"

"...Never mind."

A few moments later the members of Team RWBY entered the main room of the inn, with Weiss angrily fixing her ponytail as she glared daggers into the back of Ruby's head.

"Queen Wrynn!" Every soldier present yelled as they shot out of their chairs, all saluting proudly as Ruby's eyes widened in surprise at the gesture.

"O-oh! Uh! Greetings, uh... Men!" Ruby fumbled into a lazy salute, nearly smacking herself on the forehead in the process.

"You're not supposed to salute back you dolt..." Weiss muttered as she covered her face with her palm.

"Wait, really?"

Weiss only sighed at her leader's naïveté whilst the soldiers all chuckled at the scene before turning back to their drinks.

"So what are you all doin' round here?" Ravarth asked as the members of Team RWBY made their way over to the table in the corner that he and the elves had occupied.

"We wanna go see what Halloween on Azeroth is like, duh!" Ruby replied.

"You mean Hallow's End." Wrath corrected, using his powers to trace a ring of frost around the lip of his mug.

"Hallow's End? Not Halloween?" Blake asked, leaning her hip against the table.

Wrath shook his head. "No, though the two holidays are essentially the same bar a few key differences."

"Exactly, and we want to go see those key differences!" Yang affirmed, to which Ravarth let out a snort of amusement.

"Right... And you're sure it's not just because that one wants all the chocolate she can possibly stuff into her gob?" The Worgen asked as he jabbed an accusatory finger in Ruby's direction.

"You know now that I think about it, this was Ruby's idea..." Blake hummed in a bored tone, glancing over at her team leader.

Ruby seemed to shrink down for a moment at the faunus' words. "But, what's Hallowee-... Hallow's End without having any candy?..."

Before anyone could take another verbal jab at the reaper Varimas let out a small laugh. "Well if you do plan to go out tonight, just be wary of the Him. You never know where he could appear."

Ruby tilted her head at Varimas' words. "Him?"

Varimas sighed before turning to the Death Knight seated across from him. "Wrath, you never told them?"

"Uh... No? Why would I?"

"Because now that I've hinted at it you'll never hear the end of it until you tell them."

Ruby nodded vigorously in agreement to the Warlock's words.

Wrath let out a silent curse of annoyance before directing his full attention to the entirety of team RWBY. "It's just a legend that the citizens of Azeroth have been telling for the last decade or so, give or take a few years. Nothing other than that."

"Legend?" Blake asked.

"The Headless Horseman."

With those two solitary words the entire Inn suddenly fell into silence, with every soldier and civilian now glancing over with a visible mix of fear and curiosity as to what was being discussed.

The silence was eventually brought to an end by a question from Weiss. "Wait... So when you say 'Headless' Horseman, that's just a title right? He's not Actually-..."

"It means he has no bloody head." Ravarth confirmed. "It's pretty self explanatory Priss..."

"So you're saying there's some guy just roaming around on a horse without a head?" Yang inquired, attempting to imagine how exactly one would ride a horse if they had no head.

"Well he's supposed to be dead." Wrath clarified, though judging by his tone he was less than thrilled at the prospect of the Horseman.

Not afraid. No. He sounded... Bored. Saddened even.

"Supposed to be? As in he's undead?" Blake guessed.

"As in the whole story is a load of garbage." He confirmed, still coating the rim of his mug with a thin layer of ice.

The inn fell silent again then, with every set of eyes suddenly training on the elven Death Knight as he finally glanced up from his drink in confusion.

"What? Did I say something strange?"

"No offense Lord Duskblade," One of the many young stormwind soldiers who had been listening finally interjected. "But you're a Death Knight. Wouldn't you be the one who'd be most willing to believe this legend out of us all?"

"Which should just go to show how ridiculous it is." Wrath shrugged.

"Come on! What's the fun of Halloween without a scary monster?!..." Ruby cried out in dismay.

"Didn't she just say the exact same thing about sugar?..." Ravarth offhandedly muttered into his mug.

"I already said it's called Hallow's End, not Halloween. And you'll have fun, 'scary monster' or not. The Headless Horseman is no more than a myth, and he's going to stay that way, so put it behind you."

Ruby seethes for a moment before her face suddenly adopted an innocent smile. A smile so innocent that the males at the table glanced at each other in genuine confusion for a moment.

"Come on guys..." Ruby said, turning to make her way out of the inn.

"What? Where're we going Rubes?" Yang asked.

"To find the headless horseman, what else?"

"I really don't want to do this..." Blake quietly complained. She had wanted to go spend her night at the royal library, not hunt fairytale monsters!

"No choice! Let's go!" Ruby replied as she sped out of the door, with the rest of Team RWBY following a moment later, leaving behind a stunned inn full of soldiers and civilians.

Once the inn's patrons all seem to go back to their respective drinks and conversations Wrath turned to Varimas, a smile also on his face, though his was much less innocent than that of Ruby's.

"Var, I need some help with something, follow me would you?"

"This should be interesting..." Varimas chuckled as he and Wrath pulled themselves to their feet and began making their way to the entrance.

"Ravarth, you have the tab, right? Right. Thanks!" Wrath called back as he and Varimas disappeared out of the doorway, leaving a confused Worgen in their wake.

"Wait, what? Tab for wh-..." Ravarth trailed off as he glanced down at the table to find the still unpaid tab for their drinks that night laying in front of him. "YOU ELVEN BASTARDS!"

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this..."

"Stop being such a grouch Weiss! This is just step 1 in the best Halloween you've ever seen!" Ruby insisted, twirling Crescent Rose idly around. "Think of this like a Grimm Hunt!... Expect we're hunting a supposedly imaginary Headless Knight with an unknown level of skill and power, and an almost certain intent to kill anyone he comes across."

"Have you actually considered what we'll do if this guy turns out to be real and we run into him?"

"Of course I have!" Ruby insisted, sheathing her scythe. "Come on Weiss, have I ever charged headfirst into a situation without a plan before?"

" _YES_!"

"Regardless, I happen to have the best plan ever this time!"

"Oh? And what plan is that?" Blake asked, genuinely curious to know what sort of hair brained scheme the little reaper could have possibly come up with in the time between now and when they had left the inn.

"I'm glad you asked! So since this forest is easily big enough to hide a hundred horsemen, let's split up." Ruby explained, ignoring the multiple attempts at protest from her teammates. "Weiss and I will take the east. Yang, you and Blake take the west!"

"Got it sis," Yang said as she and Blake turned another direction deeper into the woods, the Faunus giving a silent farewell wave as the two disappeared into the dense sea of trees.

"Wait, but what's the plan if we find him?!" Weiss called out to Ruby once Blake and Yang were gone.

"Ohhh, you wanted to know _That_ part." Ruby hummed, snapping her fingers in realization.

"Yes, that's what I asked in the first-..."

"I haven't actually gotten that far yet."

"Wait, wha-..."

"ONWARDS!"

* * *

"So do you think we'll actually find anything out here?" Yang asked as she and Blake silently strolled through the forests of Duskwood, with only Blake's night vision and the brief breaks in moonlight to keep the two huntresses on their path.

"Hmm? No, of course not." Blake replied, still obviously uninterested in the whole affair.

"Why? I mean after all that's happened it's kinda plausible." Yang rightfully reasoned.

"Because Wrath told us so."

"I'm startin' to think you believe everything that elf says." The brawler exclaimed, poking her partners shoulder, causing the faunus to flinch away in annoyance. "You know he could have been Lying."

"Why would he lie about something like that?" Blake asked, glancing back at Yang.

"Because maybe he-..."

Blake's hand suddenly shot up, silencing her friend as the feline ears on her head suddenly began to twitch violently.

"Blake? You o-..."

"Shh!..."

Blake clamped her eyes shut and attempted to block out any auxiliary stimuli in an effort to focus in on the sound, only for her eyes to shoot open again in horror when she realized exactly what that faint sound was.

The unmistakeable sound of the hooves of a horse

"Yang! Duck!" Blake cried as she whipped around to face her friend, the outline of an armored figure appearing through the trees behind the brawler.

"What? Why-..."

Yang was cut off as a dark armored horseman suddenly burst through the sea of trees, seizing Yang by the back of her head.

Before the brawler could react a surge of shadowy energy suddenly rushed forth from the riders hand, forcing its way into her eyes and ears, all while she screamed out in a mixture of surprise and pain. Only a few seconds later she was limp, falling to the ground unceremoniously as the rider released his hold on her.

With his first foe dealt with, the rider glanced up to focus his full attention on Blake, Gambol Shroud in her hand, ready to defend against whatever he may attempt against her.

However, instead of the hesitation that Blake had assumed the rider would have, it instead rushed forwards and attempted to strike her with his armor plated fist, which was skillfully parried by Blake, who used the momentum she had gathered to flip back and land on the rider's horse.

She quickly used all of her body weight to yank the rider by his shoulder plates, throwing him off of the horse and landing on the ground with the Faunus, who rolled over to the downed knight and attempted to knee him. However he grabbed her leg before it could make contact and twisted it, causing a surge of pain to run through her as she bit her tongue in an attempt to hold off a scream.

Knowing that she had a clear strength disadvantage against the knight, Blake quickly made to grab Gambol Shroud, which had been knocked several feet away from the two in the struggle.

Before she could make it even a foot Blake felt someone grab her waist, and before she could even turn to face her attacker she was suddenly flung back away from her weapon, slamming into the side of a large tree.

Suddenly, as Blake was attempting to shake off the previous hit, she let out a silent curse as she felt herself being lifted into the air, a dark tendril of energy coiling around her neck like a snake around its prey, rendering her voice useless.

She quickly attempted to use her semblance to escape the clutches of the tendril, only to have most of the muscles in her arms and legs seize up as whatever mysterious force holding her by the throat seemed to suddenly hold influence over her entire being, paralyzing her.

The Faunus could only watch helplessly as the rider lifted his other hand, an orb of shadowy energy coalescing out of the very darkness that surrounded them.

Then, nearly without warning, the rider violently yanked Blake towards him, the tendrils around her neck replaced by his throat crushing grip.

Blake then grabbed the riders arm, desperately attempting to dig her nails into his arm, only for her nails to uselessly glance off his armor as his other hand latched onto her face, his palm covering his mouth as she attempted to let out one last futile cry of horror, shadowy energy forcing its way into any orifice on her face that it could find.

Her ears, nose, mouth, and even eyes were suddenly assaulted with a wave of dark energy seeping into her skull, filling her senses with nothing but the cold feeling of the darkness.

A moment later her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her arms fell limply at her sides, her now unconscious form held aloft only by the grip the rider had around her neck.

Realizing his victim had fallen unconscious, the rider brought one hand under the back of her legs, while repositioning the other under her neck, making sure he had a sure grip on her before he carried her off into the forest, his steed following closely, carrying Yang by the collar of her jacket in its teeth.

* * *

"We've been walking for nearly twenty minutes now Ruby! Just admit it, you have no idea what you're even doing out here or where we are!" Weiss hissed angrily as she jabbed Ruby's shoulder with a manicured nail.

"I know where we are! Look, see?" Ruby pointed at an old sign, the words upon it rendered nearly illegible due to the rotten wood. "It says that Darkshire is just a mile south of here."

"Darkshire?! Oh, wonderful! They might as well have just named it 'murder-death village'!"

"Come on Weiss! Would you just try to have some fun for once?!" Ruby cried, whipping around to face her partner.

"Fun?! We're in the middle of the forest, looking for some magical headless man that probably doesn't even exist, all so we can play along with your asinine idea of a successful holiday!"

"I'm not an ass-a-mime!"

"Asinine is a-... Ugh, you're impossible sometimes!" The heiress shrieked, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Well at least I know how to have a little fun! All you do is sit around all day and stare like a dope at-..."

A haunting laugh suddenly echoed in the distance, silencing both Huntresses as a wave of dread shot up their spines.

"Ruby?..." Weiss asked, fumbling for Myrtenaster. "What was that?..."

"What was what?" Ruby asked, giving a small laugh as she turned around and continued walking down the trail, though at a significantly quicker pace than before. "I didn't hear anything!"

"Ruby!" Weiss cried out, hurriedly attempting to catch up to the reaper.

"We heard nothing!"

"Please tell me you've been thinking of a plan while we've been searching!"

"It's covered!"

"Ruby! I'm seri-..."

"Weiss?" Ruby asked as she turned around, only for another spike of fear to run through her when she realized no one was there. "Weiss?... Partner?... Where'd you go?..."

Another scream, this one from a female, suddenly broke out throughout the forest, causing Ruby to deploy Crescent Rose as she silently debated whether or not to make her way towards the source of the noise.

Eventually, after commanding herself to be brave, the little reaper trailed the source of the scream, arriving at the edge of a small clearing, her view of the area blocked by a large bush.

Taking a moment to breath, Ruby gripped the shaft of her weapon tightly before she broke through the clearing, only to stop cold at the sight that lay before her. "Ohh... Ohhh no..."

Ahead of her was her team, all bound several feet above the ground to trees by thick looking rope.

"Are you guys alright?!" Ruby asked as she began to make her way over, only to freeze once more at the sound of her sister's voice.

"No! Ruby, stay back!" Yang cried, shaking around as she frantically attempted to free herself.

"Why?!"

"He's coming! Get out of here quickly Ruby!" Weiss ordered, only to let out a scream as she seemed to spot something, or someone. "Ruby behind you!"

Ruby whipped around in a panic just in time to find the sight of the armored horseman climbing off his steed, laughing softly.

"Not good, not good, not good..." Ruby muttered, raising her scythe in preparation for whatever attack the rider planned to launch against her.

Realizing that Ruby would also be putting up a fight, the rider slowly drew both of his swords, their icy cold surface hissing as they met the cool autumn air.

However, just as the rider drew within melee range, Ruby lowered her scythe, the look of confusion clear on her face. "...Wait... What?"

When she did lower her weapon the rider to seemed to hesitate, which gave the reaper all the confirmation that she needed.

"Wrath? What're you doing?"

"Wh-what?" The Horseman sputtered, finally speaking for the first time. "Who is this Wrath you speak of?!"

"Wait, hold up!" Yang called out as an amused smirk crept onto her face. "Wrath?! What are you doing dressed up like a weird demonic knight?"

"Be-... Because I am the Headless-..." The rider growled loudly when he realized Ruby was snickering. "Aren't you scared?!"

"Nope." Ruby replied, accentuating the 'P' for good measure.

"And why not?!"

Ruby merely pointed to Icebringer and Frostreaper. "Those are pretty hard to miss."

The knight glanced down and sighed, sheathing the swords before removing his demonic helm. "Damn it..."

"Where'd you get all that stuff on such a short notice?" Yang asked as Wrath placed the strange helm upon the ground.

"Oh, just had Varimas help me portal it in from somewhere. He didn't know what it was for though." He explained with a chuckle.

"Ohh, gotcha. I thought-..."

" _Wrath_..."

Everyone turned to gaze at the stone still form of Blake, who's eyeshadow had run down her face, which only served to momentarily distract from the large patches of dirt across her body that she had gained from the previous struggle.

"Are you saying that it was _You_ who choked me and knocked me out with dark magic?..."

"Uhhh... Maybe?"

Blake fell silent, her eyes still trained on the ground below.

"Oooh, you're in trouble Frosty!..." Yang clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "Makin' your girlfriend so mad like that, for shame!"

"Ruby?..." Blake asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Please cut me down."

"Can do Blake!"

"Wait! Wait Ruby don-..." Wrath cut himself off as he watched in horror as Crescent Rose cut through the rope binding Blake effortlessly, freeing the Faunus.

Blake landed on her feet, barely even taking the time to re-establish her bearings before she slowly began making her way over to Wrath, flexing her fingers in a claw like manner.

Wrath slowly began backing up, his hands held up in front of his chest as he chuckled nervously. "Now now... In my defense, I did prove that the whole Headless Horseman thing is a load of garbage... And in quite the spectacular fashion as well!..."

Blake said nothing, only drawing closer, the look of murder in her eyes.

"You know, you really did put up quite the fight. More than anyone else. I'm sure you would've ended up beating me had I not used any magic, so can we call it even?..."

Still, no response was given. Only the methodical sound of Blake's nails clicking against each other as she rubbed them together, as if trying to sharpen them.

And in that moment Wrath did something. Something he would come to regret for weeks to come.

"...Have I ever mentioned how captivating you are in the moonlight my dear?"

* * *

Wrath silently strode through the empty halls of the Scarlet Monastery, his face adorned with three long slashes across across his face, so fresh some appeared as if they could still draw blood if touched.

He traveled through what seemed to be mountains of bones and old discarded armor, ravaged by a combination of battle and time. A battle long passed, when their wielders still fought in the name of the light. In the name of the living.

Eventually the Death Knight came upon a decrepit old graveyard, with many of its headstones also ravaged by battles past. He strode past each and every grave, silently reading the names that he could, while only staring blankly at those he could not.

Eventually he halted in front of a small mausoleum, it's gates rusted shut, with a small cylindrical alter standing before it.

Wrath silently pulled out the helm he had been wearing only hours prior, placing the headwear onto the small alter on which lay a small holy symbol, it's silver surface marred with dirt and ash.

With that Wrath turned away from the alter and began waking back towards the entrance, only to stop after only a few steps.

"Oh, right..."

Wrath quickly whirled back around, placing a small paper bag alongside the other objects that lay upon the alter, ripping it open to reveal a small handful of candy.

"...For your kids."

Then the Knight backed away from the alter, before turning around and walking away, whispering one last thing as he strode away from the graveyard, the echo in his voice whispering across the seemingly endless headstones like a spirits call. "Light guide you Sir Thomas..."

He was gone a moment later, disappearing into a waiting Death Gate that faded into little more than purple smoke soon after.

The serene quiet returned to the Scarlet Graveyard once more, with only the near inaudible sound of the echoing laughter of children, along with the sound of a candy wrapper slowly began pulled open, saving the area from the deathly silence reigned throughout the rest of the monastery.


	26. Chapter 26: Walenehol Acden

Walenehol Acden

* * *

 **Gul'kafh an'shel... Al'ksh syq iir awan? Lilth sythn aqev... Aqev... Aqev...**

* * *

 _"The taste will be sweet when you get what you've earned and I'll watch you burn." - Divide_

* * *

If there was one holiday that team RWBY could all agree that they enjoyed, then that holiday was the night of Halloween.

While it meant much different things for each person present, it meant a night of merriment for most of them in the end either way. It was for this reason that three of them were running around their dorm, hastily attempting to throw on their costumes.

"C'mon guys! We're gonna be late for the dance!" Yang cried in mild distress as she strapped different pieces of an elaborate angel costume to herself, nearly slapping her younger sister, who was passing by, across the face with fake wings as the blonde attempted to throw them on like a strange backpack.

"Well maybe if Weiss hadn't taken a hundred years to do her hair I wouldn't have to hurry so much!" Ruby, who had donned a rock star getup along with a guitar that she had borrowed from one of the other students as her costume, cried, continuing to dodge her sisters deceptively fragile looking angel wings of death.

"Hey it's not my fault! If Yang had just paid attention to where she was aiming her stupid spray on glitter, I wouldn't have Had to redo my hair!" Weiss retorted, staring into a hand mirror, fixing a loose hair strand or two that moved out of place. If only she had asked Phyrra for a place to change into her vampire costume in peace.

However, amongst the bustling chaos that was currently the RWBY dorm, there sat one person idle, her eyes glued to a random book that she had procured from the library earlier in the day, along with 5 others that were currently sitting at the foot of her bed. Their mission was to occupy the girl for the night while the Halloween dance kept those she would normally spend the night with busy.

Only one person noticed this at first, and only because she had noticed her out of the corner of her eye as she flailed around in her latest attempt to get her wings attached properly, eventually succeeding after almost knocking down a lamp and nearly smacking Ruby over the head once again.

"C'mon Blake, aren't you gonna get into your costume? The dance starts in like 10 minutes!" Yang exclaimed with a smile, picking up Blake's designated costume, a necromancer, still wrapped in the airtight placid bag that team RWBY had purchased it in a few days beforehand.

"No."

Ruby was the first to object, "But we-..."

"I said No..." Blake seethed.

"Blake, come on, you've gotta at least-..." Yang cut herself off and quickly ducked as Blake suddenly tossed her book recklessly towards them, and though it missed the first two girls, it instead found it's mark only a few inches from where Weiss was pampering herself, causing the young heiress to shriek in surprise, jumping out of her seat.

Yang sensed that getting Blake into her costume would be a less than simple feat.

However, out of concern for her friend she pushed on, opting to rip the emotional bandage off now to save the dancing they always did around the subject, knowing that it would be brought up either way in the end.

"Blake it's been a year since Sun... Left... You've got to-..."

"I'm not going. That's final." Blake interrupted, ripping a new book from the small stack that she had gathered, purposely holding it directly in front of her face to show Yang her desire to be left alone.

The blonde member of team RWBY quickly caught on, as signaled by her tossing the robe to the bed like an old rag and glaring up at her friend, who had yet to withdraw the text from her face.

"You know what...Fine." Yang huffed in irritation, grabbing the arms of both her younger sister and Weiss, before beginning her forced march out of the room, turning around for but a moment only to say, "Your costume is on my bed if you change your mind and decide to come and have fun with your friends... You know, the ones that are still here."

With that a loud slam could be heard. Blake dipped her book carefully down her face to find everyone except for her had vacated the room with surprising efficiency.

She was alone.

Blake gazed down at the robe from her perch and sighed sadly. She didn't want to go to this party. She didn't, she really didn't.

But her friends were there, all of them most likely wondering if she would be okay on her own for the night while they all had a great time.

And that was fine with her, she thought as she pulled her attention back to her book, ignoring the icy chill that shot through her heart.

It was just fine.

At least... That was what she wanted to believe...

* * *

"She better get over her little storm cloud of a mood pretty soon, because I'm getting pretty frickin' tired of having having to walk on eggshells with her!" Yang yelled as she stormed down the paths of Beacon, with her younger sister and Weiss close in tow.

"You're right, but we should be a little more understanding. Sun was important to her after all." Ruby reasoned, earning a small sigh from her elder sister as the three of them stopped at a crossroad.

"I know Ruby... I just wish we could do something to help her." Yang explained.

Just as the brawler was about to continue on towards the dance she faltered as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Standing around about 15 feet away from them was a hooded figure dressed in a black robe, his face obscured from the three of them, a light blue mist flowing from between his lips.

"Man, he spent some time on that costume huh." Weiss commented, her eyes widening when her blonde teammate brushed past her, smacking her with her angel wings of death in the process, all while waving towards the hooded man.

"Hellooo!" Yang called out waving her arms in the air to grab the attention of the hooded man, who glanced up at the three, his piercing gaze stopping the girls in their tracks for a moment before Yang's confidence returned. "Nice costume! Where'd you get that?"

"Oh.. Uh... I made it." The hooded figure fumbled with his words, surprised at the sudden conversation he was thrust into.

Yang was not concerned with his awkward answer however. His voice unsettled her. Something seemed to be unnatural about it. She quickly hid this behind another one of her signature smiles. "Hey are you aright? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something? Your voice is... Strange."

"No, just a bit ill. It's getting a little better though."

"Oh, well good! So do you attend Beacon or are you visiting?" Ruby asked, finally gaining the courage to speak to the hooded man.

"Erm... Yes, I guess you could say I'm visiting." The figure lied.

Judging by looks alone, these people were no younger than him so it would be an easy disguise to pull off. Besides, if he were to go along with them, he could quickly gain information on this new location, and perhaps even find a way to leave without causing too much of a scene.

Putting on his best clueless act, the figure glanced around chuckled. "Sorry... Guess I just got a little lost."

"Aha, that's not a problem! We'll get you to the dance!" Yang exclaimed as she threw her arm around the figures shoulders, nearly smacking him in the face with on of her angel wings. Her arm withdrew a moment afterwards upon noticing something in the distance. Team JNPR. "Look! Looklooklook! It's the others! Come on!"

Without another word Yang sped off, leaving the other three in the dust. Weiss quickly followed, disinterested in the hooded figure. Only Ruby lingered behind for a moment to mutter a small apology before speeding off to join her friends.

"Well the locals are... Colorful to say the least." The figure chuckled. "Hopefully Varimas will have my location soon. Maybe then I can-.."

"So were you able to learn any more information?" A voice a few meters behind the man alerted him to the presence of two individuals strolling his way. Thinking quickly the hooded man leapt for a nearby tree, veiling himself behind its bark before peeking out from behind his impromptu hiding spot in curiosity.

Standing there were two individuals. The first was a rather tall bi-spectacled man, his silver hair nearly shimmering in the dim moonlight as he sipped from a large ceramic mug. The other was a neatly dressed woman also donning glasses, her light blonde hair done up in a proper bun with a large tablet device in one arm with a riding crop in the other.

"Unfortunately not. With her voice the way it is she's had trouble forming more than a word or two at a time." The woman replied, the exasperation in her tone clear, "It takes around a day or so to get a full sentence out of her."

"Keep pushing, it's imperative that we extract any information we possibly can from her before she expires. The more the better." The man said, his tone emotionless.

The figure hidden behind the tree grimaced at the man's words. Seems the locals weren't as friendly and inviting as he had originally anticipated. His mind quickly wandered as to the prospects of who this prisoner of theirs was. Judging by the tone they held she wasn't someone they held in high regard.

"It's been a year. Don't you think she's given up all she knows by now?" The woman asked, her voice bringing the hooded figure's attention back to the conversation between her and the grey haired man.

"No. No, there's something else. I can feel it." The grey haired man responded, his free hand idly tracing the rim of his mug as he gazed down at the pavement below them. "Once we find out all she knows we can extract her maiden powers and dispose of her, but no sooner than that."

"Very well. I assume her new temporary accommodations in the floor just under your office will suffice until you're ready to question her again?" The blonde woman asked, her tone as polite as ever, despite the dark undertone of her words.

The hooded figure felt his fists clench in their saronite metal gauntlets. It was as if this woman was speaking of little more than economics, yet she was referring to the torture and possible execution of a prisoner?

"Yes, thank you Glynda." The grey haired man confirmed with a small nod and a calm smile, "Now, if you don't mind I should go and make an appearance at the dance. I'm sure everyone there is dying to see their principle 'bust a move' as it were."

The blonde haired woman, Glynda, smirked and shook her head. "Alright. I should go and see how our prisoner is doing. I'll update you if she reveals anything."

"Please do." With that the man was gone, his lazy footsteps echoing into the distance as he presumably made his way in the same direction that Yang, Ruby, and Weiss had run off to earlier, leaving Glynda alone to venture towards Beacon's main tower.

Or, the hooded figure thought as he trailed the woman from a respectable distance while watching her every move, that's what she assumed at the very least.

* * *

"And how are we doing tonight Cinder?" Glynda asked as she glowered over the small frail form of a black haired young woman, her hands and feet chained together against the floor and wall, both her head and hands hanging limp, showing almost no signs of life.

Her left eye was covered in bandages which were almost completely hidden by her hair, which had grown wild and unkempt in the time she had been kept in captivity. Even her breathing was shallow, each and every exaltation showing off her malnourished form, her ribs poking through her skintight black shirt which had the symbol of vale emblazoned on its back.

With a huff of feigned disappointment Glynda sighed, "Quiet as usual then? That's too bad. I was honestly hoping for a nice long conversation. Not that you could do that even if you wanted to."

The chained woman made not a sound, only to rhythmic yet haggard breathing that filled her cell, though if looks could kill then the glare from her single visible eye would have sent Glynda flying across the city.

"You know, if it were up to me-..."

"So this is this world's idea of justice, hmm?..." A voice from behind Glynda cut the blonde haired woman off.

Glynda said nothing in response, only whipping around and firing a projectile at the source of the voice, letting out a small curse when a shell of energy suddenly formed around the figure's body, enveloping him in a shell of protection that absorbed the blast with little effort.

As is realization had finally wracked its way into her mind, Glynda let loose another blast of energy before quickly turning down to her scroll, hastily typing in serveral commands and hitting send before the device was suddenly blasted out of her grip and into oblivion by a large mass of bright purple energy that tore through the scroll as if it were no more than paper.

She felt her stomach drop as she realized something that made her very blood run cold.

That been her own attack.

"What are you?!" She finally yelled, glaring at the hooded figure as she readied another attack, "Are you a rogue huntsman?!"

"Do I look like a ranger to you?" The hooded man asked, his echoing voice carrying like the chill on a winter wind.

"Do you realize the implications of what you've just done?!" Glynda pressed, launching another bolt at the man, only to watch in shock as the figure merely batted the attack aside with another shield that formed around him.

That shock was soon surmounted by pain however as a shard of ice suddenly shot from the floor, impaling Glynda's leg before she could think to dodge, the frozen spear immediately covering itself in her blood. She quickly slammed her riding crop against the ice, obliterating it without a second thought.

However it was too late.

With speed that Glynda evidentially had not been expecting the man burst across the room, wrapping a gauntlet covered hand around her throat and lifting her into the air, squeezing lightly against her esophagus as she hung there, desperately attempting to form up a curse or threat, only to be met with the sound of silence.

The hooded figure wasted no time in ending the fight, and with little more than a grimace sent Glynda crashing headfirst against the ground, knocking the teacher unconscious, leaving her a half broken and bleeding mess on the concrete floor.

The chained woman meanwhile watched in what could only be described in fascination. The first person that she had seen in over a year that wasn't either one of Atlas' damned robots, Ozpin, or Glynda herself, and here he was throwing the latter around as if she were a punching bag.

Staring at the man with a single yellow eye, Cinder watched as the man stepped over Glynda's body as if it were little more than a downed branch. He then strolled up to her cell and pressed his hand against the reinforced glass of her cell, the glass suddenly cracking as a thin layer of ice spread around it, eventually shattering into a million shards were fell to the ground in a glimmering shower, coating the sorceress' cell in a layer of razor sharp shards.

This little detail seemed to have gone either ignored or unnoticed by the hooded man who merely stepped into the cell, the glass crunching under what Cinder could now see were large plate boots.

"Sorry, that fight wasn't supposed to end so spectacularly, but I have a feeling she wouldn't have let me walk out of here with you without knocking her out first."

"Tch..." That was all Cinder could say. She wanted to say so much more. To tell her sudden recuser to go back and kick the bitch while she lay in a pool of her own blood for all she had done to her. But she couldn't.

And so she merely gazed up at him, watching his movements with curiosity. It was not her usual glare, the one that seemed to dominate her face almost every minutes of every day of the last year of her damned life.

"So... Name?" The figure finally asked, earning an 'are-you-serious' expression from Cinder in return. That expression seemed to break through to the man almost immediately who quickly said, "Oh right. I thought I heard them say something about your voice. Hold on."

Cinder watched with a wide eye as the man knelt down and wrapped his fingers around her throat. It was not the same death grip he'd had on Glynda's throat. No, this was soft, gentle... And cool?...

"Try now." The hooded man clarified, giving Cinder a small smile from behind his cloak.

"Ah... M-... My voice?..." She muttered lowly, as if testing the waters. For the first time in what seemed like a lifetime the words she spoke did not tear at her throat. They didn't hurt. "How... Are you-... Doing this?..."

"I'm freezing your vocal chords, which is numbing the nerves. My guess is they were pretty badly damaged at some point?" The hooded man asked as he froze the bindings that chained Cinder to the wall in her cell, shattering the metal, catching her before she could fall to the glass covered floor.

"You... Could say that..." Cinder muttered once the man's hand was back around her throat with a roll of her single eye before pausing, glancing up at the man for a few silent moments with a curious gaze before she faintly spoke again, "It's Cinder..."

"Well Cinder," The hooded man seemed to droll over the name for a moment, as if testing it, "I think we can safely say that I've outstayed my welcome. Feel like tagging along?"

"Ab-... Absolutely..."

"Alright, well I'm sure by now a friend of mine has pinpointed my location, so we just have to hold out until he can get a portal here."

"Who... Are you?"

"Oh. Name's Wrath."

"Goodwitch!" A new voice suddenly echoed throughout the room, followed by a cacophony of weapons leaving scabbards and unfurling their blades. The hooded man quickly took Cinder into his arms and turned to face the new arrivals, only to grimace when he vaguely recognized a few of the faces in the crowd.

Before him stood a group of at least eight warriors, all wielding a variety of different weapons, all aimed directly at him and Cinder.

Wrath seemed unfazed however, merely shifting Cinder's almost inconsequential weight in his arms before letting out a sigh, "So, I suppose you think you have me cornered?"

"Drop that woman and surrender, Now!" The small red haired girl from before, who now bore a massive scythe, ordered as she glared daggers at the hooded man, who merely shook his head.

"C'mon buddy. Don't be an idiot. Just drop her and get on your knees." The loud yellow haired girl was the next to speak up.

"You act as if I'm kidnapping her." Wrath finally muttered, his blue eyes glowing from underneath his hood, "As far as I can tell she wasn't exactly being well cared for here. Why should I drop her?"

"She's evil!" The white haired girl cried out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't bother Weiss. This is probably just another agent we didn't notice the first time around!" The black haired girl hissed as she aimed her firearm towards Wrath, her finger on the trigger.

Before Wrath could think to respond to the black haired girls insult, he noticed Cinder's hand reaching up towards him. Arcing his hand around her shoulder he pressed two fingers against her neck, surging power through them to numb her vocal chords once more.

"They... They were the ones... Who did this to me... They... Have a... Knack for-... For getting in the way..." She muttered before the hooded man's fingers fell from her neck and went back to supporting her shoulders.

"I see... Well, why don't we re-..."

Wrath was cut off as Cinder's hand suddenly flew in front of his face, the sound of deflecting metal ringing throughout the room as the sorceress glared daggers at the group with her remaining eye.

Wrath glanced up to find the Spartan of the group aiming her still smoking rifle at him, her face etched in pure concentration, "Well, that was rude."

"Look! We dunno who you are, but you aren't leaving with her!" The blonde haired boy wielding a sword and a shield finally spoke up, pointing the blade towards Wrath, who merely shrugged.

"And why is that? You've yet to explain why you-..."

"Forget it! Blake's right, talking isn't going to get us anywhere!" The white haired girl cut the hooded man off, aiming her smallsword at his throat.

Cinder, realizing the heiress was about to charge, raised her hand again, forming strange glyphs that hung around in the air for a moment around the heiress like angry bees, causing Weiss to hesitate as she brought her blade back in defense.

No sooner had she done that the glyphs suddenly erupted in a fountain of power, sending the heiress flying back in a small explosion, bowling over several of her friends in the process.

"Huh... Cool trick." The hooded man glanced down to see Cinder giving a small nod of acknowledgement before she brought her hand up once more, pointing towards the wall that presumably separated her cell from the rest of the outside world.

Wrath nodded before turning his attention back to the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses, who had righted themselves and had once again taken up firing positions, though this time even those with melee weapons looked as if they were ready to charge simultaneously.

"As much as I would love to stay and fight you, I should get Cinder here some medical attention." Wrath said as he slowly began moving towards the wall, watching the group for even the slightest twitch of the hand that would betray its users intentions, "And since I have a feeling you won't be letting us out here without a fight..."

Cinder suddenly threw her hand towards the wall, several glyphs appearing as she did so which almost immediately exploded in an overwhelming blast of energy that both opened a large hole on the side of the tower as well as sending both the blonde haired boy and white haired girl down to the ground due to acoustic shock.

Wrath wasted no time and dashed for the newly formed hole.

Just before he cleared the gap he felt something slam against the back of his armor, and as he turned just before falling through the opening he found the red haired girl standing there, raising her scythe once more, presumably in an effort to cleave Cinder in two.

Just before the blade of the scythe could make contact with the sorceress' form, Wrath leapt back, hanging in the air for what seemed like an eternal moment before gravity took its hold over them, sending them both plummeting towards the concrete below.

Just before they hit the ground however, a loud crack rang throughout the area, and only a moment later, a massive swirling portal appeared below Wrath and Cinder, eliciting a bright smile from the former and a sigh of relief from the latter. "Varimas, you beautiful bastard!..."

The portal swallowed both only a few seconds later before sealing itself shut and vanishing before even the red haired girl could think to burst after them, leaving only traces of shimmering particles to hint that it had ever existed at all.

Meanwhile on the top of the tower the members of both RWBY and JNPR crowded around Glynda, who still lay in a pool of her own blood, which had grown sizable in the short time she had been left unattended.

"We'd better tell Ozpin..." Weiss said as she pulled out her scroll and began to frantically dial Ozpin on her scroll, making her way to the exit.

"And get Glynda to a hospital..." Jaune added as he and Ren pulled the fallen teacher from her own blood, propping her up on their shoulders before they began to lead her out of the room, followed closely by the rest of the combined teams.

All but one.

Only Blake remained then, gazing out at the hole from which Cinder and the mysterious attacker had made their escape. As she gazed down at the few remaining shards of energy she felt both her stomach and her chest curl up in pain.

Something wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

But then... What was supposed to happen?

Her answer came to her at that moment like a tendril of metal slowly piercing through her heart.

It was nearly silent. An almost inaudible whisper that carried malice and corruption in each word it spoke. Each fragmented, indecipherable word that sent chills down her spin like someone stabbing her which shards of ice. Each syllable was drawn out, like a snake slithering through her head, picking away at her brain. Toying with her.

" _ **Ywaq maq oou; ywaq maq ssaggh..."**_

Her eyes began to water as she felt her chest contract, the surge of pain so strong that it sent her to her knees with a cry.

She ignored the glass digging into her legs as she sat there. She ignored the warm sensation of her blood dripping from her lower legs as glass carved into her flesh.

No. All she could focus on was the haunting whispers. The maddening sounds that slipped into her eardrums, even as she brought her hands up to cover both sets of ears.

 ** _"Ywaq ma shg'fhn..."_**

Her tears were crimson.

" _ **Shgn..."**_

Her voice cracked. She had been shrieking.

" _ **Shgn..."**_

The tower was gone. She was in nothing but darkness.

" ** _Shgn..."_**

 _Shgn..._

* * *

"Blake? What's wrong?" Summer's voice echoed throughout the balcony of the necropolis, its owner watching as a black haired Faunus suddenly tensed up and glanced back cautiously.

"I'm... I'm not sure..." Blake replied as Summer strolled up and leaned on the railing, watching as the older woman gazed at her with concern clear in her expression, "Just a bad dream..."

"Does Wrath know?" Summer asked, receiving a snake of the head in response.

"No... We'll be headed to Atlas tomorrow." Blake explained, staring down at the small group of mages on the lower balcony who seemed to be working tirelessly in an effort to form a portal large enough for the Necropolis to travel through. "I don't want this weighing on his mind."

"Oh... Well would you like me to make you some tea? That always helps calm the nerves." Summer offered.

Blake nodded, giving the older huntress a small smile of gratitude.

Summer nodded and disappeared back into the necropolis, presumably on her way to the one small section of the floating fortress that possessed any form of hygiene at all, the small kitchen that Wrath had separated from the rest of the quarters in an effort to keep any living visitors from falling ill.

Of course that was the furthest thing from her mind. It was what she wanted to think about, it really was. But every time she let her mind wander it inevitably came back. The words she heard in her dreams.

The pain. The screaming. The blood. The madness.

But it was just a dream. That's all it had been.

She felt herself calm down at the thought.

Dreams. That's all they were.

That's truly what she wanted to believe.

Until she noticed the small, almost invisible, shard of glass protruding from her thigh.


	27. Chapter 27: Witch

Witch

* * *

Screaming.

That was all she heard as she was dragged through the streets, the light burning her eyes as she was dragged out of her room, if it could even be called a room.

Her legs shook uncontrollably as she was pelted with rotten food and stones, the latter thumping loudly against her frail form.

She could hear it all. The fear, the hate, all of it directed against her. But she heard one word repetitively, a word that seemed to echo the loudest.

Monster.

With as little care as possible, those that had escorted her shoved her forward, her legs buckling as she hit the floor hard, sending clouds of dust and dirt into the air, filling her lungs and causing them to burn as if they were on fire.

With weary eyes she looked around her, covering her body as best as she could as she was repeatedly bombarded with projectiles. Then, almost as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Hesitantly, she looked around, before her eyes settled on a lone figure, a burly looking man with little hair on his head and scars covering his bare chest, a man she knew as the village chieftain. With a sneer of disdain, he took out a scroll and unfurled it, his eyes glancing over the parchment as he began to read it out.

"Salem!" The chieftain began, his powerful voice causing her to flinch instinctively.

"You have been charged with crimes of witchcraft, heresy, and disturbing the peace! If found guilty of any one of these crimes, you shall be hung by the neck until you are dead! What say you in your defense?"

So these were the baseless accusations on which she had been brought here? Ever since her birth she had been ousted as an outcast, all because of the most trivial of things: her hair and eyes.

When she had been born, her hair was ash white, something many considered a sign of weakness. She could have lived with that, if anything it would have made people more sympathetic to her. But it was the colour of her eyes that were the reason everyone hated her. Unlike others, she had been born with red eyes, a sign of evil.

Her family had 'attempted' to look after her, but they were quick to discard her as soon as she was able to walk. Ever since then she had been forced to look after herself, she had to fight for her life just to get a bed to sleep on in the night. Everyone had been against her from the start, this trial was just an excuse to get rid of her.

"It doesn't matter what I say, the verdict will be the same nonetheless." She rasped, her voice hoarse and croaking. She attempted to spit at the man's feet, but her mouth was so dry all that came out was spittle. "Just get it over with."

"See! She doesn't even try to deny it!" A voice shouted in the crowd. All turned their attention to the owner of the voice, many shouting in concurrence. "She doesn't deserve to be tried! We should just hang her and be done with it!"

There was a roar of approval at the words, some of the more eager rioters rushing off to find a rope to use as a noose. There was sudden silence as one of the elder members of the community stepped forward, a disgruntled look on his gnarled face.

"I remember the time before she was born! We had our good years and our bad years, and the Grimm were a constant threat, but we got off lightly compared to other villages!" the old man began, his fellow elders mumbling in agreement. It was then that he pointed a gangly finger at her, his features twisted into a fierce scowl. "But then she was born, with her devil eyes! And the Grimm have hounded us day and night ever since!"

"I saw her one night, talking to shadows!" A lithe ginger haired woman added, stepping forward as she spoke. "I tells you, she's working with the Grimm! She's their foul fathers whore she is!"

"A whore?" Salem hissed, bringing herself to face the woman, who shrank back at her gaze. "The only whore in this village is _you_ , you self righteous cow-..."

Her words left her as she was suddenly thrown to the floor without so much as a warning. Her right cheek hurt, even as she raised her hand to nurse it. She turned and saw the chieftain flexing his hand as he nursed his palm. It wasn't the first time he had slapped her, but somehow she knew it would be the last, one way or another.

She told herself it wouldn't hurt as much next time, that she would get used to the pain.

She never did.

"So you do not deny these allegations?" He questioned, his voice calm almost as if he had done nothing at all. Salem did not reply, instead watching as the calm expression turned to smug satisfaction. "Very well. I hereby sentence you to be hung by the neck, until you are dead."

There was a great cheer amongst the villagers as she was suddenly forced onto her feet. Any attempt to fight back was hopeless as they quickly began to bind her wrists behind her, and any attempt to voice her protests were muffled by the foul tasting gag that was forced into her mouth.

They dragged her through the streets to the edge of the town, many of the townsfolk offering their own rope to be used as the noose that would hang her. They took her to the old tree, its branches gnarled and blackened, and they gathered there. A noose was quickly made and fitted around her neck, the end quickly being thrown over the sturdiest of the branches.

It would soon be over, she told herself, as she felt the rope tighten around her neck and a sense of weightlessness overcome her. It would soon be over…

" _Stop_!"

Almost as soon as she began to drift into unconsciousness, the rope slackened, causing her to hit the ground hard as she did her best to gasp for air, the task made much harder by the gag. As her breath slowly returned, she saw the crowd part as an elderly woman walked forward, her wild grey hair tied back into a ponytail that draped down the back of her ragged robes, in her hands an old wooden staff, adorned with feathers and other trinkets.

Upon setting eyes on the bound Salem, the woman gasped in horror, rushing forward and removing the noose before pulling off the gag.

"Are you all right child?" The woman asked, gently cupping her face in her hands. Salem found no words to respond as the woman looked to her injuries, before turning to face the burly man. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"High Priestess." The chieftain calmly replied, not even a hint of shame appearing on his face. "We have come to deliver justice."

"She has committed no crimes!" The woman, the High Priestess, rebuked. "You cannot punish her without sufficient evidence."

"We have all the evidence we need." He scoffed, holding his hands out as he spoke. "We have multiple witnesses."

"Witnesses who all hate and scorn her." The High Priestess once again rebuked. "And for what? For the colour of her eyes of all things!"

"High Priestess please." The chieftain whispered harshly, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I understand that you pity the child, but if she stays any longer she'll tear the town apart! Something must be done!"

"So you just decide to execute her?!"

"What would you suggest?!" He rebuked, his eyes wide in anger.

"To not condemn the child to death!" The High Priestess continued to beg. "Please."

There was silence as the chieftain took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he shook his head.

"Very well." he finally said, turning to face Salem with a scornful gaze. With a nod, two of the guards harshly picked her up, cutting her bonds but still holding her hands in place. "Salem, due to the _wise_ counselling of our High Priestess, you will not be executed."

There was uproar immediately, but before it could escalate the chieftain held up his hand, signalling for silence.

"But you will no longer be allowed to stay within these walls!" He pointed to the main gates of the town as he then spoke the damning words. "Therefore, you are hereby banished from this community! Should you set foot on our soil again, not even your precious High Priestess will be able to save you! You'll never rejoin your people!"

As the sentence was passed, the doors swung open and she was dragged before them and flung forward, the gates closing as quickly as they had been opened.

Slowly, she picked herself up, looking at first towards the gates, the archers on the towers either side already notching arrows to their bows, and then towards the forest, its black trees reaching towards the sky like grasping hands. Without a second thought, she picked herself up and dashed towards the trees, the sound of bow strings twanging and arrows thumping echoing behind her, until at last she made it to the safety of the forest.

She had slowly made her way through the forest, hoping to find something, anything. Yet all she found were more trees, and the closest thing she found to a live animal was the occasional cockroach, which scuttled away too quickly for her to even consider eating it.

Despite the abundance of trees, none were suitable fuel for a fire, all too wet and damp despite the warm conditions. Eventually she was forced to use her own clothing as fuel, and she was left naked in the night, the only sounds the forest heard that night being her pitiful crying as she came to the conclusion that this was the end.

 _ **"...Salem..."**_

She froze at the sound of her own name. She looked around for any sign of who was speaking, but found none. The more she thought about, the more she decided to ignore it. Besides, it sounded like the voice had been inside her head.

 ** _"...Salem..."_** The voice repeated, this time more urgently. She looked around, her arms doing their best to cover her nude form as she tried to discern the location of the voice.

Before she could cry out for the owner of the voice to reveal themselves, smoky tendrils whipped out of the forest, streaming directly towards her. She let out a cry of panic as she fell backwards, unintentionally extinguishing the fire as she fell. She watched with panic in her eyes as the tendrils snaked their way across her body, seemingly streaming into every orifice they could find. Yet despite the invasiveness of the tendrils, she felt a sudden calmness as the largest ones carefully slid around her, almost as if shrouding her from the cold. The same way a mother might cradle their child.

 ** _"Do not be afraid..."_** The voice sang, her eyes lulling as if she were listening to a lullaby. **"...I am peace...I am salvation..."**

She felt the tendrils leave her body, and as they did, she felt a sudden surge of strength flow through her. She turned, mesmerised towards the smoke like apparition, which beckoned her to follow.

 **" _Ours is the timeless chorus... Join your voice with mine, and sing victory ever lasting_ ,"** The voice cooed, retreating further into the forest as it spoke. ** _"Come, child. Embrace fate, and claim your destiny."_**

Salem began to follow, but halted in her tracks. Was this a trick? She had heard stories of dark spirits leading travellers to a gruesome and untimely end with promises of power, or offering that which they most desired. As soon as she had stopped, the tendrils seemed to sense her trepidation, billowing towards her like a dark cloud in a storm.

" _ **Still you fight? Still you refuse this gift?"**_ The voice questioned, numbing her mind with each word that was spoken. " _ **Very well, let me show you what fate has in store for you."**_

The smoke then forced its way into her mouth and nose, choking her immediately as she fell forward, nearly vomiting on the spot as she began to spasm and convulse on the ground.

And then, she saw the truth of it all.

* * *

The village was in the midst of celebration, cheering loudly as they drank from beer horns and flagons, celebrating yet another good harvest. Ever since Salem had been banished, fate had changed for the village. The harvests became more plentiful, the Grimm lessened in their attacks, and all in all things were beginning to turn around for the better.

Yet the sound of celebration was suddenly silenced by the loud banging on the main gates. No guardsmen were on duty, so they had no warning of visitors. They banging repeated again, and the villagers murmured to one another as to who it could be.

"I demand to speak with your chieftain!" A voice, a voice that was eerily familiar, commanded from the other side.

There were more murmurs as the village chieftain stepped forward and barked a command for the gates to be opened. The order was obeyed quickly, and the gates swung open to reveal a lone figure, cloaked and hooded in black robes.

Without another word, the robed figure strode forward confidently, their cloak brushing gently across the grass. The figure stopped within arms reach of the chieftain and froze. They then went to remove their hood, and gasps of horror rang amongst the crowd. Her skin was almost the colour of ash, and black veins ran along her arms, which were surprisingly healthy in spite of their colour.

Yet when the figure pulled back their hood, more gasps rang out across the crowd. Her hair may have been healthier looking and her face hay have been fuller, but all recognised her, and her eyes.

"Salem..." The chieftain began, his voice a whisper as he stared at first in horror before he regained his composure. "I warned you what would happen if you were to return!"

"I recall exactly what you said." Salem replied, her voice now confident in spite of her situation, a sinister smile on her face. "But I'm afraid you won't be following through with it."

"Is that what you think?" The chieftain said, his lips twisting into a cruel smile. "Someone get a rope! We're hanging this bitch tonight!"

"That won't be necessary." Salem stated, her voice surprisingly calm, much to the villagers surprise. What had happened to the cursed girl in that forest? What had turned her into this?

"You dare to overrule my orders?!" The chieftain shouted, raising his hand to strike Salem. Yet when his hand neared her cheek, all gasped in horror.

He had done it before countless times before, and no one had batted an eye before, so why should now be any different. Yet that was not the reason all gasped, nor was it the reason the chieftain himself had frozen in shock. The reason was that Salem had caught the hand.

"For so many years, I lived in constant fear because of you." Salem hissed, tightening her grip on the chieftains hand and forcing him to the ground with a cry. Her other hand then grasped his throat, turning his cries into croaks as she began to crush his windpipe. "You haunted me for nearly my entire life, and then you tried to kill me! All those months ago, you said I would never rejoin my people. And to that I say; I have no people!"

Without another word, she squeezed tightly. There was a sudden crack as his windpipe was shattered, the chieftain's eye popping out of its socket at the extreme force applied.

There were cries of horror as the villagers backed away, Salem carelessly releasing her grip on the corpse. It was then she turned to the frightened crowd, an empty look in her red eyes, even as the reflection of the fire danced in her pupils.

"And as for all of you, you shunned me as a freak, a monster!" Salem began, turning to face each and everyone of the villagers as she spoke. "I was not not a monster! But now-... Now let me show you just what a monster can do!"

It was then that the howling started, at first faint but getting louder with each and every second. The villagers suddenly panicked as hordes of Grimm suddenly rampaged through the village, clambering over walls and gates alike, nothing slowing their rush of violence.

Salem simply stood, watching in satisfaction as entire families were slaughtered like animals. She turned her attention to one person in particular, and felt a sudden pang of anguish.

Before her, clutching her staff as she tried to outrun a Beowolf was the High Priestess, a trail of blood following her as she attempted to limp to safety. She stumbled and fell, crawling away from the Beowolf as it descended on all fours, ready to leap forward and pounce.

Yet at the last second, it stopped, quickly rushing off in search of other prey. The High Priestess looked around, her eyes landing on the one person who was not running in fear. The one person the Grimm ignored.

Salem calmly walked towards the frozen High Priestess, kneeling down in front of her and cupping one of her frail hands in her own, an innocent caring smile on her face that belied the hate within her.

"Everyone here hated me, even my own parents did. I was shunned and beaten by everyone. Everyone, except you." Salem began, brushing a stray hair out of the High Priestesses eyes as the elderly woman breathed rapidly on the spot.

She thought about helping her escape, using her saviours gift to make the Grimm obey the Priestess as they did her. Yet almost as soon as she began to think those thoughts, she felt a sudden wave of force through her mind as her saviour spoke to her once more.

 ** _"She cannot live...she deserves to die..."_**

'She was the only one who ever loved me as a child...I cannot let her die.' Salem pleaded mentally, hoping that it would listen to her.

" _If she lives, you can never rule..."_ Thevoice replied, seemingly seeping into the back of her mind. _**"If she lives, you will always be chained to your humanity...it is time to break the chain!"**_

It was then, as if by some form of magic, that she felt no emotion for the woman before her. She was important perhaps, to the young girl who had been shunned as a freak and a monster. But that little girl was dead in the forest, born again as someone new. Someone with power. The smile was now replaced with a more sinister one, a faint purple glow emanating from the palm of her hand.

"It will all be over soon." Salem whispered, the smile only growing as her hand connected to the High Priestesses forehead, a blood curdling scream leaving the woman's lips as her mind was flayed and ravaged by the strange energy in her hand.

Then the screaming stopped, the High Priestesses eyes having been burnt out by Salem's new power. She raised her hand, observing her palm for any disfigurement or mutation. Not this time it seemed.

Without so much as another word, she turned and left the village, her hood covering her head as she returned to her new home, the same words her saviour, no, her master, had said to her so long ago echoing in the back of her mind.

" _ **You will be more then you ever were, and when the time comes, for what I grant you, you will serve me well.**_ "


End file.
